M M Jasim: The government is yet to take any action against schools and colleges having zero or less than 50 per cent pass rate in Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations in the last three years. The Education Ministry had warned the educational institutions for their poor performance, but no action was taken against them, sources at the ministry and the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) said. The pass rate of students in HSC examinations in the last three years was between 70 and 78 per cent. None of the students from 25 educational institutions passed the HSC and equivalent examinations in 2016. No student came out successful from 35 institutions in 2015 while 24 in 2014. In 2016, 862 educational institutions witnessed less than 50 per cent pass rate in HSC examinations, while 1,236 institutes in 2015 and 548 in 2014. Although the pass rate of SSC hovers between 80 and 90 per cent in between 2012 and 2016, none of the students from 53 schools and madrasas in 2016, 47 institutes in 2015 and 24 in 2014 could pass the SSC and equivalent examinations, officials said. On the other hand, 875 educational institutes in 2016, 947 in 2015 and 553 in 2014 had their less than 50 per cent pass rate. The officials of the ministry told The New Nation that in the absence of a relevant law, the ministry could not take any action against the schools and colleges having zero in SSC and HSC examinations. Schools from which no one passed in Secondary School Certificate and its equivalent examinations in 2016, they only got warning letters from the government so far, officials of the directorate said. The directorate generally issues warning and show cause letters to the low performing schools and if the school authorities fail to provide any satisfactory reply, the government suspends the Monthly Pay Order facilities of the teachers. They said the government cannot cancel MPO facilities of the schools, or approval and academic permission of the schools and intermediate colleges, or shut down such institutions for zero pass rate and results below par in the absence of a law. The education sector is now running on notifications, circulars, office orders etc, which leaves the government without any legal power to shut down or take stern action against any educational institutes. “We cannot take stern action like shutting down the low performing educational institutes in the absence of a law,” Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has said. He explained, “If we close down or cancel MPO facilities and approval, they go to court and get back the facilities.” “We will have a provision in the upcoming education act for taking action against low performing educational institutes,” the Minister said. He added, “No one passing the examinations from an educational institution and the results being below par are a big concern for us.” “It is waste of public money; we cannot afford loss for long,” he added. Director General of DSHE SM Wahiduzzaman said, the directorate is trying to find out the reason for the bad performance of the educational institutions. “We will take action like suspending Monthly Pay Order (MPO) facilities of the teachers of the low performing schools,” he said.
