The government currently has no plan to nationalise private primary schools, Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon told Parliament on Tuesday.
“The government has no plan at present to nationalise private primary schools. If a decision is taken in the future in this regard, private primary schools will be considered," he said while replying to a scripted question from Opposition Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Md Abdul Wares (Gaibandha-5) in the House, UNB reports.
The parliamentary session resumed at 3pm with Deputy Speaker Kayser Kamal in the chair.
Abdul Wares, in his question, said there are currently 53,038 private primary schools in the country and wanted to know whether the schools would be nationalised.
In reply to another scripted question from treasury bench lawmaker Md Mustafizur Rahman Babul (Jamalpur-3), the education minister said a total of 1,556 educational institutions across the country currently offer education from the secondary level up to Grade 12.
Of them, 1,494 are privately managed while 62 are government institutions, he said.
The institutions include 432 in Dhaka division, 247 in Chattogram division, 243 in Rangpur division, 208 in Rajshahi division, 136 in Sylhet division, 127 in Khulna division, 85 in Barishal division and 78 in Mymensingh division.
Milon said no final decision has been taken now on the introduction of educational programmes up to grade 12 in new secondary schools.
If the government policy decision is taken, necessary measures will be taken to gradually introduce education programmes up to grade-12 in new secondary schools, subject to the requirements, infrastructure, number of teachers, student needs, and other prescribed conditions, he said.
Responding to Jamaat lawmaker Md. Golam Rasul (Jashore-4), the education minister said there are currently 1,050 academically recognised degree (pass) colleges and 698 academically recognised degree (honours) colleges in the country, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS).
Besides, there are 1,056 MPO-enlisted colleges offering degree-level education, he said.
The minister said the government is continuing the process of gradually bringing non-MPO educational institutions under the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) scheme.
He said non-MPO degree colleges will be included in the MPO system gradually, subject to government policy decisions and compliance with all prescribed eligibility criteria.
