Wares Ali Khan

Picture the architect of your children’s minds—the one who ignites their curiosity, teaches them critical thinking, builds their characters, unlocks the mysteries of algebra, deciphers the poetry of Tagore, and instills the moral courage to navigate a complex world. Now, hold that noble image and confront this brutal fact—we, as a society, have valued their monumental contribution at approximately BDT 18,000 a month. This is not just a low salary; this is sheer indifference towards teachers of most MPO-enlisted secondary schools in Bangladesh. This is also an invisible obstacle to our nation’s intellectual progress.

A new MPO-affiliated teacher’s the monthly take-home pay is barely enough for any family to make both ends meet. In a city like Dhaka, Chattogram or Sylhet, the rent for a modest apartment, a dwelling space will require this entire amount of salary. We are not talking about luxuries; we are talking about basic survival. This is not a budget but a daily, soul-crushing tightrope walk over a financial abyss, a constant, gnawing anxiety that forces a choice between nutritious food and a new textbook for their own child.

This financial hardship compels many teachers to work for a longer time. So, the final school bell signals not the end of their day, but a frantic beginning of private tuition hours. This leaves their minds and bodies exhausted. The classroom, which should be a sanctuary of energised learning, becomes the stage for a weary performer running on fumes. We demand passion, innovation, and mentorship, yet we provide a reality where passion does not pay the electricity bill, and inspiration cannot quiet a hungry stomach. This relentless scramble for solvency drains them of the very energy and creativity our children so desperately need.

This brings us to the nation’s tragedy unfolding in slow motion—the catastrophic brain drain from the teaching profession. Imagine a brilliant, ambitious graduate from a top university, standing at the crossroads of their career. In one direction lies a path to a gleaming corporate tower, offering a starting salary of BDT 80,000, health benefits, fringe incentives, and the promise of upward mobility. In the other, a dusty, neglected road leads to a classroom, offering a pittance and a lifetime of financial insecurity.

To expect them to choose the classroom is not just unrealistic; it is absurd. We are not just failing to attract our best and brightest; we are actively, systemically repelling them. The profession has been demoted from a noble calling to the graveyard of broken ambitions, a last resort for those locked out of more dignified careers. And while many heroic souls still choose this path out of pure, unadulterated passion, a nation cannot build its future on the sacrifice of a few.

The consequences are as predictable as they are devastating. When the people entrusted with building our nation’s educational foundation are themselves under-motivated or under-qualified, that foundation is built on sand. Complex scientific principles are reduced to memorised formulas; the beauty of literature is lost in translation; critical thinking is replaced by rote learning. We are churning out a generation armed with paper degrees but lacking the critical faculties and innovative spirit to compete on a global stage. How can ‘Smart Bangladesh’ be built by minds that were never truly taught how to be smart?

The time for cosmetic changes and sympathetic committee reports is long past. This is a five-alarm fire in our educational landscape, academic seats, and it requires a bold, revolutionary response.

We need to abolish the current insulting pay grade and institute a separate, prestigious National Pay Scale for teachers. It must be competitive, rewarding, and a powerful magnet for talent. Benefits cannot be afterthoughts. We need realistic housing allowances that reflect market rates, full festival bonuses that allow for celebration without debt, and comprehensive health insurance that says, “We care about your well-being.”

The career path of a teacher must not be a flat line. A transparent, merit-based system of promotion—from assistant teacher to senior teacher, senior teacher to assistant headmaster, and headmaster to educational policymaker—is essential to foster ambition and retain the best talent. We must invest relentlessly in world-class professional development, equipping our teachers with the latest pedagogical tools and knowledge, transforming their job into an intellectually exhilarating craft.

Ultimately, we must recognise that investing in our teachers is the most imperative investment we can make in our nation’s future. It is not expenditure; rather is the most fundamental and high-return investment a nation can afford. A country that erects magnificent bridges and metro rails but allows the human bridges to its own future—our teachers—to crumble is engaged in an act of spectacular self-sabotage. So, the question is not whether we can afford to grant our educators a life of dignity. The real, urgent question is—in a world defined by knowledge and innovation, can we possibly afford not to?

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The writer is an academic and edupreneur. He can be reached at [email protected]