The State-Profession Relations in Bangladesh: The Development of Primary Education and
Teaching Occupation 1971-20011
S.M. Abdul Quddus2
Abstract:
Bangladesh has the Westminster type of political system, where the prime minister is the main executive,
leader of the house and advises the president. The civil service is the administrative arm of the
government and has the responsibility to serve the people of the country (GoB, 1994: Art 21). However,
the structure of Bangladesh Civil Service shows a rigid pattern of ranks which correspondence to
occupational type hence financial benefit, privileges, honours and power. The horizontal classification of
civil service is also based on number of other factors such as educational requirements, level of
responsibility and so on. Civil servants in Bangladesh are categorized into four “Classes” among which
higher level civil servants are recognized as Class I “gazetted officers”. Below them are three other
classes namely Class II, Class III, and Class IV “employees” performing jobs of varied responsibility. But
less privileges, honour, and rewards are attached to these three lower-level “classes”. It is to mention that
higher skill or occupational expertise, autonomy or self-directing, exclusiveness etc are some essential
attributes of members of professionalized occupation. Most importantly, occupational expertise that
justifies privileges and higher status depend on the state and its policies i.e. how a state officially define
and classify particular kinds of work in the national labour market (Freidson, 2001:128). In this paper,
therefore, I shall explore the development of the vocational situation in a historical context of primary
schoolteachers particularly related with their position in the civil service system in Bangladesh. My
discussion will also cover the following two basic questions: (a) How historically primary teaching
occupation has taken shape particularly in relation to civil service system in Bangladesh? In other words,
to what extent primary schoolteachers’ position in the country’s civil service system put them in an
unfavourable situation to achieve qualities of members of a professionalized occupation; (b) to what
extent different political regimes perceived primary teaching as a self-directing occupation i.e. extended
the opportunity for greater autonomy in performing teachers’ professional tasks since country’s
independence. I think these are main two questions need to be answered in order to explain the
development of primary education in general and teaching occupation in particular i.e. demeanour and
standards of what teachers do and material rewards as well as social prestige that have been linked to
primary schoolteachers’ jobs.
1. Introduction
Primary education in Bangladesh until 1973 was developed following the British line. The
Bengal Primary Education Act of 1930 and rules and regulations framed under it were the
guiding principle. Under this Act, primary education was free and regulated through District
Primary Education Boards—financially and operationally autonomous bodies. Moreover,
primary schools were established by local communities on their own initiatives and usually
managed by managing committees formed of guardians and other interested local elites. The
1
Paper prepared for the presentation in the International Workshop on “Four Decades of Governance and Public
Administration in Bangladesh: Retrospect and Prospects” scheduled to be held on 11-13January, 2013.in
Chittagong, Bangladesh.
2
Department of Political Science, International Islamic University Malaysia. Email: abdulquddus@iium.edu.my
1
appointment and payment of teachers were the responsibility of the School Managing
Committees (Husain, 1978). However, once the schools were operating they could apply to the
government for recognition and support, provided they met alleged criteria regarding land,
premises and teachers. Until the nationalization of primary schools in 1974 (effect from 1973)
there were four types of primary schools in Bangladesh i.e. government-funded, municipalityfunded, partially supported by the government what at present called “Registered” and unaided
and unrecognized by the government or “Unregistered”. It is to mention that the first three
categories mentioned earlier were called “recognized” or state supported schools but there were
local management, supervision and responsibility e.g. supervising day-to-day functioning of
these schools, recruitment, transfer and posting of teachers were in the hand of the District
Primary School Board and the School Management Committee rather central bureaucracy.
However, a far-reaching change in the primary education sub-system was introduced in February
1974 when the government passed the “The Primary Schools (Taking Over) Ordinance” in the
parliament with effect from October 1973. Under this Act all “recognized” primary schools
became government institutions free from community involvement and supervision, their assets
including lands, buildings, and funds so on became government property and most importantly
primary teachers became government employees i.e. part of the country’s civil service system
under central bureaucratic control.
2. The Historical Development and Organization of Occupations within the Public Sector
It is to mention that the civil servants began to be accorded the identity of state servants in India
from the time of the Mughal era (1526-1707). During the British era the civil service system in
India was characterized by rigid rules, patronage and emphasis on seniority was specially given
for promotion purpose. Jamil, however, argues that the British colonial administration was
designed to establish ‘a centralized and strong executive administration based on the paternalistic
traditions of Indian society’ (Jamil, 1998:14). the Indian civil service during British era was
clearly divided into two distinct “classes” i.e. the superior and the subordinator. The ‘officers’
were highly trained, skilled and “all-rounders” and the ‘clerks’ had training and skill capable of
performing highly routinized clerical activities (Heginbotham, 1975: 40 quoted in Jamil, 1998:
18). When Bangladesh seceded from Pakistan in 1971 the civil service inherited the attributes of
2
the British-Indian civil service and the civil service in Pakistan. Therefore, the structure of civil
service in Bangladesh shows a rigid pattern of rank corresponds to vertical classifications.
3. The Civil Service Structure and the Position of Primary Teachers
Despite the fact that schoolteachers’ jobs are constrained by some bureaucratic rules i.e.
formulation of curriculum or specify what subjects to be taught at each grade level by the state
authority or require that every teacher submit a lesson plan for what will be taught in their
classrooms. Nevertheless, Lortie (1969:11) notes that in spite of school administration may limit
options the teacher is still free like most professionals to choose their main task i.e. classroom
instruction (quoted in Friedson, 1968:161-2). For Freidson, “In the classroom, which is the
primary locus of their work, schoolteachers have considerable autonomy” (Freidson, 1986:162).
Larson on the other hand, argues that the restriction of numbers or small in size is an important
aspect of a professionalized occupation of what she called the professions’ “market project”
(Larson 1977:9-18). Leggatt suggests that a careful control is exercised over professionals’
recruitment, training, certification and standards of practice (Leggatt, 1970:156)
In the following section, I shall discuss how civil service system is organized in Bangladesh and
how it effect the autonomy or self direction as well as other aspects of primary teachers’
professional life e.g. control entry to the occupation, better training for teachers etc hence their
professionalization. It is to be mentioned that the civil service system in Bangladesh are divided
into four distinct hierarchical categories based basically on levels of responsibility, position in
the national pay scale, educational requirement, recruitment procedure and so on.
3.1. Four Categories in the Civil Service System and the Position of Schoolteachers
The civil service in Bangladesh exhibits many traits of the British and Pakistani era (Jamil,
1998:19): The most distinct of these is hierarchy in the civil service system. As stated earlier that
the structure of Bangladesh Civil Service is overly rigid pattern of rank and consists of four
broad “classes” i.e. Class I, II, III and IV. Each of these four “classes” undertakes a specialized
function (e.g. policy formulation/ implementation and supervision; perform clerical tasks;
messengerial and other support services respectively). Among these four “Classes” higher level
civil servants are known as ‘class 1 gazetted officer’ and others particularly Class III and IV
3
level civil servants are generally called “karmachari” or employee not officer. Those who belong
to the “Class 1 officer” rank generally are recruited from the upper class of the society with
higher education, wealth and respectability (Zafarullah et al 1997). Moreover, they also have
their share in power and policy making process which together entitled them to special
recognition in terms of honour, privileges and condition of service. The ‘Class I gazetted officer’
posts are the highest category of civil servants and they are divided into 29 functional “cadres”,
each linked with a particular ministry at the central secretariat—the nerve centre for all
government activities (Khan, 1998:69). But not all members of Class I category belong to the
cadre service. The post of the Thana/ Upazila Education Officer for example, is a Class I post but
not a cadre post. The Upper level (Class I) officers of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) who
belong mainly to 29 functional cadres can be noted as the Bangladeshi version of the members of
CSP or ICS. On the contrary, Class II officer can be identified as members of PCS during British
era i.e. clerks. The position of Class III and Class IV stand below the Class II ‘officers’ in terms
of privilege and honour.
Over the years, the numbers of civil servants in all “Classes” have been increasing. Khan for
example, showed that while the Class I gazetted officers also known as ‘BCS cadre officers’
accounted for 8% of the total number of civil servants, the other non-cadre personnel i.e. Class
II, III and IV, on the other hand, account for 4%, 61% and 27% respectively of the total
personnel in the public sector (Table 3.1). The following table shows the size of the BCS in
Bangladesh:
Class
Table 3.1.: Size of the National Civil Service (1992 figure)
Min/ Div
Dept/ Dte
Auto/ Corp
Total (%)
I (BCS cadre)
1875
32 922
43 888
78 685 (8%)
II
51
10 741
26 066
36 858 (4%)
III
4132
442 859
132 851
579 842 (61%)
IV
2343
162 819
86 202
251 364 (27%)
Total
8401
649 341
289 007
946 749 (100%)
Source: adapted from Khan, 1998:50
Note:
Min = Ministries; Div = Divisions; Dept = Department; Dte = Directorates (e.g. Directorate of
Primary Education); Auto = Autonomous bodies (e.g. Public Universities); Corp = Public
Corporations
4
It seems from the table 3.1 that Class III employees (in which primary teachers belong to)
constitute 61 percent of the total personnel in the civil service system. If taken together, Class III
and IV ‘employees’ constitute overwhelming majority of the total number of public sector
personnel i.e. 79% (Table 3.1). These figures indicate that there was relaxation or less control in
entry to the ‘employee’ category (i.e. Class III and IV levels) of the country’s civil service in
spite of the fact that there remained extreme restriction of numbers or exclusiveness in entry to
the ‘officer’ category (only 8% and 4% accounted for class I & class II respectively of the total
civil service). Although Class III and IV employees constitute the largest portion of the public
sector personnel yet they stand at the bottom of the reward structure of the internal labour market
considering less value of their jobs. Of twenty salary grades under the National Pay Scale 2009
(revised in 2011), the top nine were assigned for the Class I or higher civil service ranging from
basic per month salary of Taka (Tk.) 11000 to Tk. 45,000 and Class II ‘officers’ allocated salary
grade 14 to 10 i.e. basic per month salary ranging from Tk. 5200 to Tk. 8000 and Class III
employee assigned salary grade 18 to 15 i.e. ranging from basic per month salary Tk. 4400 to Tk.
4900 and last two salary grades i.e. 20 and 19 were allocated to Class IV employees (e.g. car
drivers, gardeners, sweepers etc) ranging basic salary of Tk. 4100 to Tk. 4250 (GoB/ Ministry of
Finance, 2009). However, the basic salary for all four “Classes” personnel was supplemented by
other benefits and allowances like housing and medical. In addition to these ‘Class I officers’
were also entitled to get allowances and benefits for travel, telephone, top bureaucrats such as
secretaries were further entitled for car and even servants and guards (Zafarullah et al 1997:15).
Such salary distribution among different classes/ levels personnel working in the civil service
system can, however, be explained in relation to the importance and nature of the work done by
members of a particular “Class” as well as skill/ training needed to do their jobs and the
exclusiveness and elitist character that attributed to that particular “Class” or level.
3.2. The Official and Social Status of Primary Teachers
The status of teachers working in the government primary schools (GPS) can be perceived
according to the prevailing civil service system in the country i.e. their process of recruitment,
5
level of appointment, position in the salary structure of the civil service internal labour market
etc. As stated earlier that the teachers working in the GPS became Class III government
employees since nationalization of primary education in 1973. However, the major deficiencies,
identified by several studies (e.g. Hossain, 1994; Quddus, 2008 & 2011; Quddus and Askvik,
2004) in relation to Class III status in civil service system or bureaucratization of GPS teachers’
vocational life and activities, serve as deterrents to their professionalization i.e. enhancing
competence, make them motivating personnel, and developing a service ethos and above all
increasing image as socially respected occupation. Although there are clear career and training
prospects for ‘Class I officers’ but such scope is very narrow for other lower-grade government
employees such as primary teachers. Khan for example, argues that “Those who belong to
classes II, III, and IV are ‘scheduled castes’ in the civil service hierarchy. Most of them are
condemned to stay in their designed classes throughout their working lives with only few are
able to break the class barrier and move into next higher class” (Khan, 1998: 49). Some of the
basic figures about occupational development of GPS teachers are shown in the following table:
Table 3.2.: Growth of Schools, Teachers and Pupils in Government Managed/ Supported
Primary Education in Bangladesh 1971-2001
Year
Number of
(4)
schools
(2) Teachers (percentage of total (3)
trained with C-in-Ed)
Female Teacher
1970
26 399
117 275 (61% in 1972a)
2 541
5 250 819
1975
36 165
164 719 (50%b)
8 397
8 349 834
1980
36 665
174 161 (--)
10 847
8 419 313
1985
36 698
183 638 (--)
15 199
8 920 292
1990
37 655
189 508 (--)
39 564
12 051 172
1995c
37 710
158 658 (90.5%d)
42 708
11 593 013
2001
37 671
162 090 (95%e)
61 008
10 830 742
(1)
Pupils
Source: BENBEIS (GoB), 2002:32-4; DPE (GoB), 2002:12; Akter, 1980; Alam et al. 1997:60
Note: aBased on Khatoon, 1986:8; bPlanning Commission, 1975; CInformation in this row is
based on Alam, 2000 & DPE (GoB), 2002:9; dUNICEF, 1995/World Bank 2000b:11;
e
USAID, 2002d:4.
‘—’ means data not available
6
From the table 3.2 it is clear that over about three decades the primary education in the formal
sector made progress in increasing number of schools, teachers, enrolment in primary schools,
percentage of trained teachers. It is interesting to note that teachers who were trained (with C-inEd) in the State managed/ supported primary education or formal sector increased from 61
percent in 1972 to 90.5 percent in 1995 and further to 95 percent in 2001. However, the
percentage of trained teacher decreased from 61% in 1972 to about 50% in 1975 was attributed
to the entry of huge untrained teachers in the sub-sector immediate after nationalization of
primary education in 1973 under political consideration by the regime of the time (Dove, 1981a;
Planning Commission, 1975: 2).
According to one source the number of children enrolled in 1975 was around 7.5 million, while
in 2000 the corresponding number was 18.5 million children (Unterhalter et al 2003:87). One
reason for this expansion is, of course, the formidable population growth in the country. The
other reason is the changing enrolment rates of girls’ student. A significantly larger proportion of
children attended primary education in 1995 (79%) than in 1980 (62%), and especially among
girls a huge change has taken place (Chowdhury et al., 2002: 192). Although the statistics are
somewhat inconsistent, the combination of an inflating number of students and a stagnating
number of teachers seemed to be that the teacher-pupil ratio in state-owned schools had become
very unfavourable. The teacher-student ratio in GPS increased from 1:45 in the year 1970
(BANBEIS, 2002) to 1:67 in an average (individual school situation in many cases obviously
would be even higher) in the year 2001 (DPE/GoB, 2002). In addition to the differences between
various school types, there were also differences between urban and rural areas. In particular this
was the case regarding state-owned schools where the number of students per teacher was
significantly higher in rural than in urban areas. Obviously this had implications for teachers to
be effective practitioners in state-owned schools, and to handle this situation the system was
based upon a two shift arrangement where grades 1-2 attend the first and grades 3-5 attend the
second shift.
In spite of the fact that there made progress in different aspects of primary teaching occupation
e.g. increase number of teachers, percentage of trained teachers with C-in-Ed etc over the period
but these developments has little impact with regard to the improvement of the status (both
official and social) and knowledge and skills of primary teachers hence their professionalization.
7
One of the main difficulties in this respect was perhaps the lower position of primary teachers’ in
the civil service system of the country.
From service delivering point of view, members of the Bangladesh civil service particularly
belong to the Class III & IV are generally engaged in support service, messengerial tasks and
perform ‘dirty jobs’ in the government offices. Considering the nature of the job in many
occasions their services require no prior training or higher educational background (in most cases
less than 10 years of schooling). The position of sweepers and cleaners, for example, is at the
bottom in the civil service system i.e. Class IV rank. Class III employees like primary teachers
stand only one step up of the position of the sweeper and cleaners who carry out ‘dirty jobs’.
Thus, as stated earlier that Class III and IV personnel in the civil service system are called
Karmachari (employee) not officers. From the point of view of social stratification and jobdescription in civil service system in Bangladesh higher level and salaried jobs i.e. ‘Class I’
positions in the public offices (i.e. Ministry/ Division, corporation, banks etc) are considered as a
bodraloker pesa (gentlemen’s professions) as these posts attribute to higher academic
background, entry through very highly competitive examination, scope for better career path and
exercise of considerable power and so on (Khan, 2002). On the contrary, low-salaried jobs such
as car-driving, messenger, sweepers and cleaners are regarded as Nimnabrittar kaj (low-class
jobs) which are the jobs for Class III and Class IV employees as these employments do not
require higher educational background, perfect capacity, complete experience, extreme diligence
etc (Asaduzzaman, 1990:56). Therefore, the official and social status of primary teachers can be
perceived in relation to the above-mentioned social stratification and job-description for
personnel working in the civil service system in Bangladesh. Considering their Class III position
in the civil service system, primary teaching is also considered as a kind of low-status occupation
and an untrained primary teacher, therefore, is placed at salary grade 18, while a PTI-trained
teacher at grade 17 and a Head teacher at grade 16 of the national pay scale (where grade 1 is the
highest and grade 20 is the lowest) for government sector personnel. Below a primary teacher’s
grade (grade 18) there remains only last two grades i.e. grade 19 and 20 for Class IV employee
e.g. sweepers and cleaners. According to a report of the USAID (2002d:6), a government
primary teacher monthly salary in 2002 was total Taka 4,000 (about $70US) and therefore
cannot be considered adequate. Moreover, there is an inequality and strong control in inter-class
8
relationship in civil service system in Bangladesh. According to Jamil, the civil service system
is often characterized by “a number of symbolic gestures, e.g. the frequent use of “yes sir” in
encounters between superior and subordinate, standing up from the sit when the boss enters the
room……and doing his personal work” (Jamil, 1998:19). In relation to such civil service culture
the above-mentioned USAID report noted that “…in the presence of a higher officer such as an
UNO (Upazila Nirbahi Officer) a [primary] teacher would not even take a seat unless the UNO
insists that the teacher do so” (USAID, 2002d:5). All attributes of Class III employees described
above, therefore, exemplify low official status for primary teachers in accordance with the civil
service system in the country.
“Class III” position of primary teachers in the civil service system also has had implication for
better training i.e. improves occupational knowledge and skill hence enhances their occupational
authority. Members of various specialized BCS cadres i.e. Class I gazetted officers generally
develop skills and competence specific to their work through regular in-service training either in
the country or abroad (Zafarullah et al, 1997) but for Class III employees (except primary
teachers) who works in the public offices usually there is no provision for in-service training.
Alike other Class III public sector employees to become a primary teacher require no prior
training. Despite the fact that the secondary-school and college teachers require having prior
Bachelor in Education (B.Ed) or Master in Education (M.Ed) training from the Teachers’
Training Colleges (TTC) or Universities. It is to mention that primary teachers usually get their
one year in-service C-in-Ed training from the PTI. This one year PTI training is considered as the
main training for a primary schoolteacher in his/ her whole service life (detail discussion about
teachers’ training is mentioned in chapter five). On the other hand, since the nationalization of
primary education in 1973 the government took the responsibility for curriculum development
and textbooks for primary education (PMED, 2001:17). Such act of the state brought primary
teachers’ jobs under some bureaucratic rules i.e. what subjects to be taught at each grade level or
require that every teacher prepare or ready to produce (when asked by ATEOs/ AUEOs) a lesson
plan based on ‘prescribe’ primary curriculum for what will be taught in their classrooms. Even
classroom activities about which teachers are supposed to have considerable autonomy were also
restrained by bureaucratic instructions and guidelines as primary teachers in Bangladesh work
under the guidance of the District and Thana/Upazila education officers. The official instructions
9
and guidelines about how to conduct a class is usually followed and carried out by the teachers
because such type of behavior is required by prevailing bureaucratic norm (Hossain, 1994;
Quddus, 2008). In general, primary teachers’ professional activities are evaluated by the superior
bureaucratic authorities such as TEO/ UEO or ATEO/ AUEO.
The Class III position of primary teachers in the bureaucratic domain further limit scope not only
for their better training or occupational competence but also teachers’ interaction over the school
mission, goals, curriculum, and even their instructional practices (Quddus, ibid). In fact, the
Class III position hindered primary teachers in achieving higher educational qualifications and
professional training which can make a significant difference in status both within the civil
service system and in the society at large hence lack their esteem and rewards. Hossain observes
that the ‘modernization’ of basic education system in Bangladesh imposed mainly ideologies of
bureaucratic and control mechanism upon teachers (Hossain, 1994). For him, the attributes of
Weberian bureaucratic norms and values i.e. discipline, order, efficiency, documentation and so
on are very much inseparable part of primary education administration, which effect teachers
day-to-day vocational activities. Thus the increasing bureaucratisation of teachers’ career
threatened to destroy the traditional respect that teachers have always received in the village
community (Hossain, 1994). It is because traditionally the village community used to see
primary teachers as a wise and knowledgeable person doing non-manual work but the modern
teacher appeared more like a Class III employee in the bureaucratic ladder who merely observe
the rules and regulations specified by their superior and even doing manual work such as
distribution of wheat among the school children. Consequently, teachers lost their self-direction
and teachers’ occupational autonomy had long been replaced by bureaucratic formalism
(Hossain, ibid).
Considering the above-mentioned discussion about primary teachers’ official and social position,
the following discussion outlines the typical primary teachers and their social conditions and
background.
3.3. The Typical Primary Teachers and Their Social Condition and Background
10
Dove (1980) depicted the social situation of primary teachers in the rural Bangladesh after the
country’s independence particularly in the 1970s. For Dove, the typical teacher was the son of a
farmer who himself might have had only a few years of primary schooling. To become a teacher
was a career option for ambitious children of families who had limited resources. The teacher
would prefer to live and work close to his home village. He would like to avoid taking part in
manual work since that would not fit with the ideal image of an ‘educated’ person in Bangladesh.
Yet due to his limited salary he frequently had to get involved in income generating activities
that would challenge this ideal image.
In 1974 the Quadrat-e-Khuda commission noted that a main problem in primary education was
that primary teachers had low social and economic status (Jalaluddin and Chowdhury 1997:285).
Both salary as well as other material resources was considered unsatisfactory and teachers' social
status was also perceived to be lower than desired. Although nationalisation turned teachers into
government employees their salaries were still insufficient to make a decent living and they had
to supplement their income from other activities (Dove 1980:19).
Within the hierarchy of government officials the teacher have had position at the bottom of the
educational bureaucracy and he would have very limited career prospects since most managerial
positions required more advanced training. From the perspective of the local community,
teachers occupied a middle ground between the poor and the well to do (Dove, ibid). Poor people
would definitely look up to teachers as educated persons who have a secure income. The local
elite, on the other hand, would not deem a teacher as someone to be respected, and also among
those with more advanced university degrees would a primary teacher be treated as a low status
person. To a large extent teachers would depend upon the favours of the local elite: for general
support and goodwill, but also for extra income from private tutoring of the children of wealthy
families (Quddus, 2001 & 2008).
Hossain (1994: 122) did a case study of Bilash Nagar State Primary School. He claimed that
generally the introduction of a modern bureaucratised educational system in Bangladesh had
weakened the status of teachers in local community. While the traditional village teacher might
carry the respect of the "guru", i.e. a wise and knowledgeable person - the modern teacher
appeared more like a Class III government servant, i.e. someone who had to observe the rules
and regulations specified by their superiors. According to the study of Hossain the low
11
hierarchical position of teachers in the government system inhibited them from improving their
social status, and frequently they maintained that their (particularly male teachers) marriage
proposals were turned down because of this.
Their low position in the bureaucracy also implied that teachers were subject to extensive control
by superiors. They had to follow a number of rules: like for instance, arrive at school at the same
time every morning, sign the attendance register punctually, dress in certain ways (e.g. not
wearing the traditional lungyi), report student attendance, teach classes in accordance with the
national curriculum, and follow the timetable of the school (Hossain, 19994). Unhappy with
many of the rules and regulations, teachers frequently proceeded differently in ways that they
considered to be more appropriate and that might suit their interests better. At the same time
they had to pretend that they performed as prescribed vis-à-vis superior authorities, and they
would fill in required forms with information about teaching, student enrolments and attendance
that was untrue and did not mirror the real school situation in a proper way. In so far as such
practices were discovered teachers would be punished by their superiors in the system. This
created a culture of control and formalism where teachers continuously seem to have been
involved in a power struggle about their working conditions, how much discretion they would
have in their jobs, and to what extent they were to be recognised as proper professionals.
To a large extent the education system presented by Hossain reminds one of what has been
labelled a machine bureaucracy (Mintzberg 1979). The machine bureaucracy is rigidly rule
oriented and seeks to control the performance of organisational members through standardised
action programmes that specify more or less in detail how they should solve various tasks.
According to Mintzberg machine bureaucracies are obsessed with control and ridden with
conflict between different layers of authority. The performance of a professional bureaucracy, on
the other hand, departs from the standardisation of skills. Members are recruited on the basis of
the expertise they have acquired through previous training and indoctrination. Since they know
what to do they are capable of performing complex tasks independently of detailed control
systems. The management system is founded on professional autonomy and members of the
profession tend to identify with each other and with their professional community which also has
a responsibility for setting professional standards and for sanctioning malpractice. The situation
12
of primary teachers in Bangladesh seems a long way from such an ideal type portrayed above by
Mintzberg. In particular they lack the type of education and training that characterise members of
a professionalized occupation. Nine months to a year of basic training with 10-12 years of
educational background made them unable to understand topics like child psychology and
pedagogical theories that were included in their training programme.
4. The Struggle for autonomy in performing teachers’ professional tasks
One of the interesting aspect of public sector in Bangladesh is that there is no direct pay and
benefit negotiation and imposition for favourable working condition with the employer i.e.
government. Moreover, due to the centralization of administrative authority in the public sector,
schoolteachers’ vocational organization such as the Bangladesh Primary Teachers Association
(BPTA) cannot pursue its objectives (e.g. to improve salaries and working conditions) through
the usual method of collective bargaining (Quddus, 2008). Such situation has induced the BPTA
to depend on even support in many occasions the political agenda of the different regimes in
order to gain benefits from them. However, such kind of acts of the BPTA in most cases, as I
want to argue in the following discussion, provoked conflicts within the organization and lead to
the emergence of rival, competing form of representative organizations of primary teachers.
4.1. Recognition under Mujib Regime 1971-75: Opportunity Gain
One vocational union policy of the country’s 1st regime under its strategy in socialising the
country thus restricted multiplicity of representative organization of low paid employees working
in the public sector such as primary teachers. Therefore, it extended the opportunity for the
BPTA to be recognized as the sole union of primary teachers in the country. As already
mentioned the regime of the time nationalized all primary schools in accordance with the
demand of the BPTA. Thus it was implied that the BPTA under the leadership of Azad3 was the
only recognized organization of the primary teachers to the regime of the time. Having
3
Abul Kalam Azad (called Azad) a young lecturer of the then Dacca (now Dhaka) college as the 6th president of the
BPTA because he was a close-associate of Mujib, the then prime minister and young activist of Awami League (AL)
as well as skilled organizer of the “National Liberation Struggle Committee”. Azad later joined the Dhaka
University as a lecture of sociology.
13
recognition from one regime does not necessarily mean that BPTA always succeeded to be
recognized unconditionally by successive regimes as the main representative organization of
primary teachers in persuading its own agenda to change conditions and surveillance of
occupational service of primary teachers.
4.2. Recognition under Zia Regime (1976-1981): Opportunity Lost
The assassination of Mujib under a military coup in 1975 was an unfortunate end of the 1st
regime of the country and also golden age of the BPTA. An interim government took over
headed by Mustaque Ahamed (one of Mujib's cabinet colleagues). Mustaque was in the power
only for 73 days during the time of political turmoil and severe economic crisis in 1976 with the
support of the military. During Mustaque's short-lived regime a significant shift happened in
BPTA’s mission4. Thus it emerged as a business organization with the worry that it would be
difficult to raise fund even continue to exist in future as the regime that supported it most was
overthrown. The leadership of the BPTA pursued and somehow managed to get a ‘trade permit’
from the Mustaque regime in order to sell garments among primary teachers under the Famine
Relief Fund of the government. The BPTA bought some properties with the profit (commission)
of selling clothes5. The real hard time for the BPTA started when the General Zia’s military
regime took over the power from the Mustaque regime in 1976. Zia regime made several
gestures to public sentiment in order to widen its popular support (Talukdar, 1981). As part of
such gesture, Zia regime maintained a vague stance on the issue of 'nationalization' of basic
public services including primary education and the regime took caution and tactful stands in
dealing with the teachers’ vocational organization such as BPTA. The military regime donated
Taka 5 lakh ($33000) in 1978 as a gesture to the BPTA to build its own office building6.
However, such donation was not given unconditional. It was aimed to get support of the leaders
of the BPTA in order to carryout regime’s new reform agendas about primary education. “Zia
later wanted to de-nationalize primary schools and under the newly introduced local government
system called “Swanirvar Gram Sarkar” (local self-government at the village level) were given
the authority of management and supervision of the local primary schools. This attempt of the
4
Group discussion with the central leaders of the BPTA, March 2003
Interview: BPTAGS(2)
6
Interview: BPTAGS(2)
5
14
Zia regime to transfer authority relating to appoint, post, promote and transfer teachers and other
employees of primary schools to local authorities i.e. Swanirvar Gram Sarkar” created
antagonism among leaders of the BPTA. Therefore, they declared non-cooperation with the
government and adopted what they call “action programmes” including Sit-in’s, demonstrations
and processions; statements on mass media; collective fasting and gherao (picketing); and strike
etc. At last under an agreement signed between the regime and the BPTA and all “action
programmes” of the BPTA were withdrawn and government also moved back by withdrawing
the provision to transfer authority for management and supervision authority of primary
education in the hands of the Swanirvar Gram Sarkar”. In this heated battle apparently the
BPTA won. Primary teachers remained as part and control of the country’s bureaucracy.
However, as a result of the conflict on the issue of transfer authority for administration and
management of primary education particularly rural primary schools to the Swanirvar Gram
Sarkar”, the relationship between Zia regime and the BPTA later became less warm and in many
occasion the regime tried to undermine the leadership and the BPTA as a whole7.
4.3. Recognition under Ershad Regime (1982-1990): From Rhetoric to Reality
After Zia's assassination General Ershad came into power under another military coup in March
1982. Ershad initially followed the same strategies as his predecessor did. At the beginning his
military regime encouraged a small group of primary teachers to split-up the BPTA8. One of
such initiatives was the formation of a new faction of the BPTA called ‘Amiri--Fazlu group’
under the leadership of Amiri and Fazlu as the President and General Secretary respectively – the
first division in the history of the primary teachers’ association. “All activities of the Amiri-Fazlu
group were supported even financed by the Ershad regime and this group got all sort of
patronage by the regime of the time”.9 Ershad for example, “gave cash donation and sanctioned a
plot with 10 kata10 public land to build office of the “Amiri-Fazlu group” and Azad was arrested
because he was organizing primary teachers against these “anti-teachers activities”11. The noncooperation attitude of the regime toward the BPTA made its normal activities extremely
7
Interview: BPTAGS(2)
Interview: BPTAFS(4)
9
Interview: ibid
10
1 kata is equivalent to 720 square feet.
11
Interview: BPTAGS(2)
8
15
difficult particularly for its leaders, therefore, leadership of the BPTA moved forward to find
some ways to negotiate with the regime. At last both government and leaders of the BPTA came
to an agreement and Azad was set free from the jail. and under a deal the BPTA arranged a
government-sponsored meeting at Pakshi in spring 1988, where Ershad addressed as the chief
guest and the Prime Minister and hundreds of thousands of primary teachers attended the
meeting. However, in that public meeting Ershad declared some service benefits for primary
teachers (e.g. time scale12, recreation benefits, and two (instead of earlier one) annual festival
allowances, formation of teachers' welfare trust, creating assistant head teacher posts etc). Ershad
also re-allocated the earlier mentioned public land (plot) later to the BPTA to build its office. On
4 June 1985, the Ershad regime also proclaimed "The Government Primary School Teachers
Welfare Trust Ordinance, 1985 (Ordinance XXVI of 1985)", which was passed later in the
Parliament with the aims to help primary teachers and their dependents to provide financial
support for the purpose of medical treatment, higher study, and their professional development
etc. The establishment of the “Teachers’ Welfare Trust” by the Ershad regime and having only
supporters of Azad group in the trustee board was considered as another major credibility after
nationalization of primary education in 1974 for the BPTA. Despite the fact that the BPTA
maintained good relationship with the regime but the formal transfer of the public plot to build
its office remained unfulfilled until the regime came to an end in 1990.
4.4. Recognition under Khaleda Zia Regime (1991-1996): Non-Cooperation Revisited
In a convincing victory after Ershad regime was toppled by an urban-based mass movement in
the late 1990, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Begum Zia (the widow of General
Zia) came to power in one of the first free election held in Bangladesh for twenty years (Rock,
2001). However, the BPTA found it difficult to deal with the new regime because of its close
relation with the earlier “autocratic regime”. Moreover, non-cooperation with the opponents and
non-consistency of policy are common phenomena in political-administrative culture in
Bangladesh. Khaleda Zia, later accused leaders of the BPTA as dalal (collaborators) of the
Ershad military regime. As her political rival Ershad allotted the public plot to the BPTA to build
12
Members of Civil Service in Bangladesh are paid based on pay ladder called 'pay scale'. As per pay scale, if any
type of employees do not have scope for promotion or take very long time to be promoted to the upper career ladder
(e.g. in primary teaching there is only two posts i.e. head teacher and assistant teacher) then they are entitled to get
salary and other benefits on the basis of next ladder of the pay scale after 8, 12, 15 years of service respectively.
16
its office and created the posts of assistant head teachers for primary schools. Thus her regime
took no initiative to implement these policies. The activities of the “Teachers’ Welfare Trust”
were also declared withheld on the same ground. Another faction named “Awal group” of the
BPTA was created with the support of the regime. The leaders of the BPTA (Azad group) also
tried to organize teachers in order to show up their strength by launching “non-cooperation”
movement13. Consequently, Azad was arrested again. In absence of its president other central
leaders of the BPTA declared “action programmes” including agitation, demonstration and
meeting in the capital city Dhaka with the intention to put pressure on the regime to free their
leader Azad and press their 21 point demands. In the meeting held in Dhaka in the middle of
1992, hundreds of thousand primary teachers were attended and took to the street14. At last both
the government and BPTA reached an agreement under which Azad was set free from the jail.
The BPTA later called meeting of its National Representative Council in Dhaka where the
secretary general of the ruling party BNP was present and gave the speech. The strength of the
‘Awal group’ once it got support from the regime was waning fast as the BPTA started to deal
with the regime. At the last end of its tenure the Khaleda regime transferred 900 teacher posts
from development-head15 to revenue-head as per demand of the BPTA.16
4.5. Recognition under Hasina Regime (1996-2001): Looking for Allies
The Awami League (AL) returned into power after 21 years in 2001. The transition, however,
was under another free fair election held in 1996. Hasina regime from the very beginning
identified the BPTA and its main leader Azad like its predecessor as dalal of the earlier regimes.
Thus it took caution in dealing with them. It is common from the political context and culture of
Bangladesh that each political party wants to have a wing in all vocational/ organized groups
(such as farmer, physician, student, teacher, etc) in the society in order to mobilise mass support
and other party activities. Moreover, it is not unlikely that sometimes regime put pressure on
even offers privileges to a particular vocational group to be affiliated with the party in power.
13
Interview: ibid
Interview: BPTAFS(4)
15
Posts under development head mean these posts are temporary and commonly created with the assistance of
foreign aid called "project" for a specific period of time (2-5 years). So, teachers working under these posts always
feel threatened of losing their job by the end of the project if government don't absorb these post under revenue head
(government supported permanent posts)
16
Group discussion with the central leaders of the BPTA, March 2003
14
17
But such pressure or favour depends on the magnitude of influence of the particular vocational
group in the society. Probably because of past bitter experience in dealing with earlier regimes,
the leaders of the BPTA refused to become 'party-men'. Consequently, they got immediate
reaction from the regime. The prime minister cancelled her scheduled meeting with the
representatives of the National Committee of the BPTA (Azad group). The prime minister not
only refused to meet with the reprentatives of the BPTA but the regime also took harsh stand
against it. For example, another government-sponsored new faction called Sufia-Amiri group
was formed under direct control and support of the regime. As part of the regime’s harsh stand
against the BPTA the Hasina regime also amended the “Primary School Teachers Welfare Trust
Ordinance, 1985” in order to grasp more influence in selection of teachers' representatives in the
Trust. Her regime passed the "The Government Primary School Teachers Welfare Trust
(Amendment) Bill, 2000 in the parliament with the following amendment:
Ten teachers [member] are to be nominated by the government with consultation to the
Bangladesh Primary Teachers' Association. Provided that where there are more than one
association of teachers and no agreement can be reached among them, the government's
decision on such nomination shall be the final.
The earlier provision was "ten teachers [members] to be nominated by the government after
consultation with the Bangladesh Primary Teachers' Association (Azad group). The amendment
about teachers’ representative in the Welfare Trust and reluctant attitude of the Hasina regime
resulted tricky relationship between government and the BPTA. The regime also announced a
proclamation17 in 1998 prohibiting primary teachers’ involvement and carryout union activities
with “outsider” (here mean Azad). Moreover, disciplinary measures18 (such as dismissal, issue
show-cause notices, etc) were also taken against some key leaders of the BPTA on the ground
that they had violated the above-mentioned government proclamation. The magnitude of the
government’s actions against the leader of the BPTA was so strong that compelled its president
to call the BPTA as a social-welfare organization instead of vocational organization of primary
teachers. Despite the fact that the BPTA has been acted a vocational union of primary teachers
17
Circular no. PMED/admn-3/association-1/98/368 date: 16.08.98; Circular of DPE no. 2-A, 9B-DA/95/262/69
date: 24/08/98.
18
For example, official show cause notice were issued under the “The Government Employee Behavioural Act,
1979” to the General Secretary, the Finance Secretary, Assistant Finance Secretary and Assistant Organization
Secretary of the BPTA by the Dhaka District Primary Education Officer (memo no: miscellaneous
/adm/1007/97/45/4 dated 10.01.99)
18
and most of its activities since independence appeared to be collective bargaining in nature,
potential threat from the regimes occasionally force to hide its real identity.
Nevertheless, Azad’s claimed identity of the BPTA (social-welfare organization) did not help to
protect the leaders of the BPTA from the disciplinary action of the government and develop a
workable relationship with the Hasina regime until the end of the regime in 2001. Found no other
option the leadership decided to take to the street again i.e. sit-in, demonstrations and
processions in order to compel the regime not to take any action against leaders of the BPTA. It
also observed strike at the primary schools. It is interesting to note that leaders of the BPTA met
secretly with the ‘high-command’ of the main opposition party of the time just before the
national election held in 2001. Their meeting with the opposition party BNP was aimed to get
advance commitments about re-start the activities and their absolute representation in the
“Primary Teachers’ Welfare Trust” as well as withdraw all disciplinary measures taken against
them by the Hasina regime. “In the meeting we assured our support to the BNP in the
forthcoming general election on the condition that they will fulfil our demands”.19 The BNP and
its 4-party allies won in the election held in 2001 with the two-third majority, which opened up
new opportunity and avenues again for the BPTA. For example, the finance secretary of the
BPTA got transfer as head teacher to the primary school where the office of the “Primary
Teachers’ Welfare Trust” was located and he was also appointed as the secretary of the
“Teachers’ Welfare Trust” by the government. Moreover, all teachers’ representatives of the
Teachers’ Welfare Trust were selected from the BPTA (Azad group) and it activities resumed
after a long time.
The above history of the struggle of primary schoolteachers for gaining occupational autonomy
reveals that their professional organization such as Bangladesh Primary Teachers' Association
never got unconditional support from the regimes since independence. The regimes were
interested to use the organization considering its strong support-base all over the country and
potential for political and electoral purposes. In many occasions conflict imposed by the regimes
resulted split of the organization and weakened the organizational solidarity. Inter union rivalry
mainly resulted from regimes’ support and encouragement was one of the major hindrances in its
19
Group discussion with the leaders of the high command of the BPTA, March 2003
19
development and collective power. Moreover, because of the pervasive bureaucratic state and
culture of political control of vocational organizations, the BPTA was insufficiently organized
and coherent to compel effective participation in the highly centralized and regulated political
and administrative system in the country. Constant conflict with the regimes also affected the
self-direction of the BPTA as well as uniformity and consistency in its strategies of gaining
recognition. Such a situation sometimes compelled the BPTA to demand and negotiate for
nationalization of non-government primary schools (RNGP, NPS etc) with ‘some educated’
teachers in order to broaden its existing support-base to win battle against the regimes. Primary
teachers’ low educational background and fear of victimisation as member of the civil service
have also paved the way for “outsider” who belong to other profession i.e. university teaching to
be in the top leadership position of the BPTA for more than three decades. Azad, the president of
the BPTA has no worry of victimization by the regimes as his Dhaka University service is not
under the sanction of "The Public Servants (conduct) Rules, 1979" and "The Public Servants
(discipline and Appeal) Ordinance, 1985". But “outsider” issue is definitely a problem for the
BPTA especially in dealing with the regimes (e.g. Hasina regime). Sometimes regime-sponsored
conflict among factions engages themselves in identical rivalry over this ‘outsider’ issue.
5. Conclusion
The above discussion has revealed that the organization of occupations within the state indicate a
very strict hierarchical system and this is the system particularly not only in Bangladesh but in
the Indian sub-continent. It also suggests that primary teachers in Bangladesh belong to the
‘Class III’ position in the civil service system. Such position put them just one step up than those
i.e. ‘Class IV’ employees whose works considered as ‘dirty jobs’. In a hierarchical society like
Bangladesh this sort of situation prevents primary teachers even to take a seat in the presence of
a higher officer like a UNO unless he insists teachers to do so! The ‘Class III’ status to a large
extent also created an atmosphere of subordination that resulted lack of scope for the kind of
control over their work that would characterise a professionalized occupation. In general, there
attached low value and status with Class III category jobs (i.e. car driving, support service,
messengerial jobs etc) and require no higher education background even prior training. Alike
other class IV employee, primary teachers’ knowledge base was restricted due to limited
20
training. They had low official status, and they performed their tasks from positions located at
the bottom of a very hierarchical bureaucracy. As a consequence they frequently did not see
themselves as professionals and they lack what we may refer to as a professional identity. The
above-discussion has also revealed that primary teaching only to a very limited degree had
allowed and to be able to come forward as an autonomous profession.
The history of the relationship between the regimes and the professional organization of
schoolteachers shows that the rise and existence of this organization was an outcome of
continuous struggle with the regimes. The BPTA has been struggling to be accepted as legitimate
representative organization (union) of primary teachers since 1975. Due to regimes’ restrictions
the BPTA took some specific characteristics in order to survive and endure. Some of the
remarkable attributes of the BPTA included: (i) welfare profile; (ii) commercial status; (iii)
‘commission’ business; (iv) factionalism; and (v) struggle mainly for ‘bread and butter’ issue and
so on. Considering the above-mentioned attributes of the BPTA, it can be said that in Bangladesh
there was no autonomy left for primary teachers’ union, their ethics were corrupted and free
vocational union became prescribed. In addition, the dual roles and identity of the BPTA as
“vocational union” and “social welfare organization” also created difficulties in the definition of
its aims and objectives. The BPTA mainly acted and adopted startegies for ‘bread and butter’ i.e.
improvement of salary and working conditions of primary teachers and succeeded in raising the
economic conditions of teachers even if not up to the expected level. In many occasions the
BPTA seemed to be tied-up with the regime in power and its leaders were patronage politically
as well as loyal to the regime. However, vocational organization of schoolteachers and their
leaders never got unconditional support from the regimes since the independence. The regimes
were always interested to use teachers association considering its wide support-base all over the
country and potential for political and electoral purposes without recognize it or delegate
authority to license future members of the occupation. Inter-faction rivalry had also been a major
handicap to interest articulation and realise goals for vocational betterment of primary teachers.
The way BPTA was represented and conducted had problems of asymmetric dependence,
fragmented representation, little mutual respect between factions and no effective means of
appealing to wider public. With all these characteristics and the pervasive bureaucratic and
political control showed that teachers' unions particularly at the primary sub-sector were
21
insufficiently mobilized, organized and coherent to have legislative approval or official
recognition as the representative organization of the primary teachers. Occasional teachers'
uprisings temporarily compelled the regimes to compromise and sit with teachers’
representatives even to fulfil some of its demands but the issue of its recognition, autonomy and
empowerment had long been unresolved.
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