The education ministry decided to shut the double shift at entry classes of educational institutions from 2025, and the decision will be implemented at all classes in the next five years. Respective educational institutions will also be operating class activities on Saturdays before going on a single shift entirely. No new teacher will be brought under the MPO scheme, and for the teachers from double shifts already enjoying the MPO facility, a strategy will be formulated to keep them employed. No educational institutions with the doubled shit will be approved to open any new classes anymore once the double shit becomes a new institution.
Currently, 465 educational institutions operate double shifts with over 7,50,000 students across the country. Of those institutions, 165 are government-run with about 270,000 students and 222 enjoy the MPO (monthly payment order) facility with about 385,000 students. Teachers and employees of non-government schools and colleges under the MPO scheme receive a basic salary and some allowance from the state coffers. There are also 78 non-MPO-listed institutions with over 96,000 students.
The education boards will provide these branches with separate EIIN from the Bangladesh Bureau of Education and Statistics (BANBEIS), and these branches then will operate as separate institutes with the teaching approval of education boards. Besides, the education boards concerned will also take necessary steps to form managing committees to operate those institutions.
Once these decisions are in place, branches of the educational institutions including Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Ideal School and College in capital’s Motijheel and Monipur Uchcha Bidyalaya and College in the capital’s Mirpur will turn into individual institutions with separate managing committees and principals.
Currently, branches run under a single managing committee and have separate branch heads.According to the education ministry, the non-government educational institution (school and college) organogram and MPO policy will be amended to implement the new decision.
The current policy states no educational institution will open a branch anywhere except the approved main campus. However, the DSHE can consider the opening of a branch of an educational institution on the land with mutation and record of rights on the basis of demand and appropriateness. Besides, educational institutions do not often get adequate time for classes due to operating a double shift and co-education operations also face problems during this time. Since there are an adequate number of educational institutions, student enrolment will not be affected much.
However, efforts must continue to improve the education quality of all institutions, he added.
