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The continuous demeaning situation of education did not see the way to recruit deserving and real qualified teachers as teachers were employed in educational institutions by the local touts turned managing committee members who recruited teachers by virtue of their muscle and party power that made huge scope for them to illegally earn money by employing unqualified teachers, in most of the cases though not all. Following the long discussion, criticism, advice and suggestions of the educationists of the country, the government gave importance to the matter of recruiting qualified teachers through a rigorous selection process and so introduced a separate entity named ‘Non-Government Teachers’ Registration Certification Authority (NTRCA).
It raised hope for our future generation to have deserving teachers in their classroom and receive quality learning from them. That did necessarily face huge opposition from the local leaders and even the members of Parliament as their cronies would not be able to earn illegal money through teacher recruitment process. Still the entire process and NTRCA face difficulties to select and employ qualified teachers. In spite of the hurdles, the non-government educational institutions began embracing more qualified teachers than before. But one recent news makes us frustrated once again as selecting good teachers through NTRCA exam may see a different way of recruitment, i.e, teachers will be recruited without taking any written test. It sounds absurd!
Dainikshiksha.com, an education based news portal, published a news with the headline, all arrangements have been completed to put the last nail on the coffin of selecting qualified teachers by NTRCA. The institution has become ineffective and centre of turmoil in the last sixteen years because of corruption, nepotism and partisan steps. In spite of these numerous problems, this institution started selecting better teachers for non-government educational institutions in greater number. Now it is heard that NTRCA is planning to recruit teachers without arranging any written test, that, educationists think it to be a suicidal step. Teachers will be selected only through MCQ tests. How come!
The then government introduced NTRCA in 2005 and today is 2025 that means, twenty years have passed still we cannot say the teacher recruitment in the non-government educational institutions has been freed from the clutches of evils. However, it cannot be disagreed that these non-government educational institutions at least began meeting better quality teachers in most of the cases. That might not go far if NTRCA really plans to recruit teachers without taking any written test to save time and recruit teachers in the shortest possible time. The matter is a serious concern as the so-called MCQ has done so much harm to our students that it will take minimum fifty years to recover. Today students cannot express anything of their own either in Bengali or in English mostly because of this MCQ type tests.
The SSC examination scripts checking going on in the country. Head examiners and examiners have shared with me that students have written their answers using mobile language in many of the answers- be it short type, MCQ or broad type question. This habit they have developed over the years. No main theme, nothing of their own has been expressed that clearly says that they are expressing any idea or theme of the topics extremely in short which is devoid of any convincing idea. Teachers have also been developed through this environment. But to face NTRCA tests, they had to take some preparation which means they had to go into a little depth of any subject that is going to be erased through the absurd plan they want to begin. If the written test is closed, it will create half-done teacher, incomplete teacher.
It is true that thousands of teaching positions under MPO enlisted schools, colleges and madrasas remain vacant and it is causing serious disruption to the usual study and educational works of children. It takes huge time to conduct preliminary test, written and viva-voce examination just like a snail pace, it means a race of about two years. By this time, many more positions get vacant. To get relief of this situation, the authorities have been pondering over a system which will complete the entire recruitment procedure in three or four days by taking only the viva-voce examination instead of written test. Apparently, it seems to be an active and effective step, however its ultimate result will be self-doomed and suicidal.
The current steps of evaluating exams in slow motion must be replaced by some innovative ways. One such advice is mentioned here. The written exams should be taken on Fridays and scripts will be checked from the that day and Saturday. It would be better to conduct the written test on a beginning day of any three days’ vacation and the next two days scripts will be evaluated. A big number of teachers will be invited from Dhaka City and adjacent areas to check the scripts sitting in a particular place, maybe it is in the NTRCA office. If it cannot accommodate, education board can be contacted to accommodate teachers for one or two days.
Their food and refreshment will be provided properly. When all the teachers will evaluate the scripts together, discrepancies and mistakes will be minimal and individual point of judgment will not prevail to create discrimination. It will remove all sorts of confusions that arise while teachers evaluate scripts sitting in their respective homes. Just after evaluating the exam scripts, teachers will be paid their dues to make them interested to respond to NTRCA’s immediate call next time. Similarly, oral test must also be completed within two or three days. Many teachers will be invited who will complete the viva-voce exams forming many boards and set questions will be asked to all without beating about the bush in the viva-voce boards that are done now. An effective orientation to be given to those who will run the written and viva-voce examination.
The existing slow pace of test conducted by NTRCA will never solve the problem of selecting teachers within the shortest possible time to fulfill the vacant positions lying for years and which is increasing gradually. And the authorities’ plan to resolve this crisis does not hold good either. Their plan to take only viva-voce will miserably fail to select qualified teachers. It will rather find incomplete teachers who will never be able to dedicate themselves to building up a happy and prosperous nation by nurturing the young children. The already loss our students have faced can also never be addressed by the teachers to be selected through this so called MCQ method.