1. Introduction
In some countries in the world, to establish democracy and peace, and the coagulating of the process and the aspects of peace, several institutions should be incorporated into the whole issue. One of these institutions which play a vital role in this aspect is education and higher education, where there is the vigorous emphasis on its vital role in the rhythm of the country. In this 21st century, the mechanisms of generating wealth in an economy would largely depend on the quality of the human capital which the country churns out into the job market. This is primary to other means such as land, machinery, and capital which are considered essential for the generation of wealth. Therefore, to meet the demands of the 21st century, it is critical that there is a fundamental restructuring of the institution of higher education for the training purposes and educating people for national growth. In this case, there will be the creation of advanced knowledge which is essential for the social, economic, cultural and economic progress of a nation.
There is immense importance in the functionality of educational institutions since they offer skilled people who render their services to develop the country. In Bangladesh, there is the immense participation of teachers and dons in the political affairs of the country. The nation has a high number of teachers who participate and engage in partisan politics and have a fundamental position in the leadership of the country (Andaleeb, 2003). This can be attested by that fact that in the 1960s the institutions of Bangladesh were considered the breeding ground for future leaders who would take the country to the next level of leadership. In this case, this paper will take an approach in determining the benefits of teachers engaging in partisan politics and the challenges which they face while doing the same.
2. Methodology of the study
The methodology of the research followed strategies of research which includes the review of the literature, a case study of the country of interest and analysis of the sources of knowledge regarding the subject matter. The literature review had a precise focus on the area which is discussed in the introductory part of the study. It involves the review of the literature which involves politics of Bangladesh with interest in higher education institutions participation in active national politics, especially the teachers and dons of these institutions. A limited number of sources for the internet was used used in the review of the subject discussed herein. It is the literature review, and what it informs in this study which will form the backbone of this research since it is through it, some case studies about Bangladesh were considered.
This study took a qualitative approach to the understanding of the aspect of teacher engagement in active and partisan politics in Bangladesh. The research is based on secondary data and therefore used resources which have covered the subject of teacher participation in active and partisan politics in Bangladesh. It is a case study which seeks to explore and have a clear understanding of the situation of teacher engagement in partisan politics in Bangladesh. Sources have a corresponding approach to multiple sources of data about the politics of Bangladesh. In this case, it is the understanding the motivation behind teachers and dons engaging in partisan national politics. Also, there was an analysis of the benefits of such a venture and the challenges which they come across. It is, therefore, a qualitative study of the implication of engagement of teachers and dons into partisan politics in Bangladesh.
3. Literature review
Since the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971, the country has been led by either the Bangladesh National Party(BNP) or the Awami League. This has been disrupted by the armies in 1975, 1982-90, and 2007. There are significant ideological differences between the political parties with the animosity between the two factions a tradition which is used to color the media arena (Clarke, & Phelan, 2017). Bangladesh is a crowded country with a population which is almost chocking its landscape and the geography of the place having a massive impact on the population of the place. With a population of around 160 million people, and a 144,000-sq. Mile total area of the land, Bangladesh is one of the densely populated countries in the world.
In Bangladesh, there were times when education was viewed as a luxury for the rich and the upper class in the society. The society was marred in mass illiteracy but this changed in the turn of the 21stcentury, and many people have embraced knowledge and education. Shawkat & Ali, (2004) believe the need for a skilled workforce to move the country towards economic growth has spurred many people towards education for the purposes of a self-sustained economy. Highly trained people and human capital do a favor for the human resource development of the country through the churning out of the instructors, teachers, and scholars to feed these institutions. These are then the instrumental things which bring the revolutions to the aspect if the society such as politics, culture and socio-economic determinants of the society (Shawkat & Ali, 2004). Therefore, in this case, the purpose of education is to churn out a vicious group of knowledgeable people to the country where they can influence the direction in which the country will take as far as progress is concerned.
It is in this case that the society expects the education system to produce and prepare knowledgeable, far-sighted and knowledgeable people who can assume various responsibilities in the society. In an environment which is fiercely competitive, the aspect of education cannot be overemphasized, and the growing trend of modernity makes the importance of education fundamental to the society. In the case of Bangladesh, after it was liberalized for Pakistan in 1971, the education sector was greatly transformed (Shawkat & Ali, 2004). In the case of higher education, the number of public universities has increased, and there have been most students who are seeking higher education.
During and the after days of independence, Bangladesh has inherited many universities for the public which included the Dhaka University, Jahangir, and Chittagong University, the University of Rajshahi among others. Immediately after independence, the government which was led by the Sheik Majbur Rahman gave and approved enormous power to the teachers and students of universities, together with other stakeholders of the university (Pranab Kumar, 2009). These included the non-teaching staff, lay-public, politicians and the parents. This was made legal by the University Act of 1973.
The politicization of administration has been a common feature in the politics of Bangladesh. Due to bureaucracy, every government has given them a due consideration at each level and privilege to officials loyal to them. It is argued that this is not a unique situation to the people of Bangladesh only since even the developed countries still make the same political endeavors. This is in the sense that the recruitment of the top cream of the civil, service usually give the administration in place a serious edge in the implementation of their policies. This is in the aspect that they are done on a political basis for the advantage of the government.
It can be attested that political life in other countries is different from that of Bangladesh in the sense that 10% of the post of higher level in the united states are political appointees. In this case, according to Pranab Kumar (2009), these do not career civil servants, while in the UK there are political advisers who are recruitedto advise the ministers. However, this is not the case of Bangladesh where political loyalty is considered as the most vital criteria for the performance appraisal than it is professional performance. There is a sense in which political office appointments in nations outside of Bangladesh are given based on high professional identities rather than political affiliations and loyalty.
It is normal in Bangladesh for political appointments to be done based on the rewarding ruling party’s supporters and the opponents are considered as opponents of the ruling party and therefore considered not fit to hold political office. These are the people who are considered and victimized in political appointments where the natural order is that they are discriminated in the points of promotions, transfers and other services related to job evaluations (Praab Kumar, 2009). This is where the teachers and dons in higher education usually engage in partisan politics since most of the recruitment is done on the merit of political loyalty and affiliations.
There has been a damning allegation of the selection process in all universities of Bangladesh. This is despite their having a clear-cut procedure which is formal for the selection and recruitment of lecturers and teachers. Due to the rigidity of the system, it is easy for one to wonder who eventually gets recruited to be a lecturer despite having the necessary skills and papers fit for the job (Khan 2010). The narrative in Bangladesh is that most of the recruitment process which happens in Bangladesh is usually a politicized affair. This is because the process of politicization begins with the attempts of bringing change to the top brass after the change of central government. There is a sense in which the aspect of bringing changes to the administration of public universities has been a matter of interest since the routine has been embalmed to the political culture. This became a routine in the early 1990s when it became apparent that a regime change needed a changeat the top of public universities administration in the manner that they will largely influence the implementation of policies of the government.
This routine was even practiced during (2007-2008), Army Backed Care Taker Government where there were changes which were done in the public university administration. The intentions of this were to ensure that the people who were selected had a clean public image and not the people loyal to the last regime. However, there was the narrative that many of these who were chosen had been involved in party politics. There is a sense in which once a loyal teacher has been promoted or elected to be the vice chancellor of a public university, he or she will have to strive to please the interest of the party which is in power.
The teaching fraternity in the public universities is highly divided. This is in the aspect that one group will hold the ideologies of the Bangladesh Awami League and the other will be a faction which will feature the leftist political parties (Pranab Kumar, 2009). The leftists’ groups are the ones who consider themselves those who favor the war of liberalization and the battles of independence. They, therefore, recognize themselves as the Blue Group of the nation. The other group is the one who favors and follows the BNP and the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, who prefer to consider themselves as the White Group members of the society. Since then the vice chancellor will be elected from the either of the faction, he or she will have to do the bidding of those in power and remain in good terms with them denotes Pranab Kumar, (2009). This even extends to the point where he or she will give undue attention and privileges to the people of the party which have put him or her in that position.
It is essential in this contact to denote that senate and the senate which are the highest organs of a university mandated in the policy are usually composed of nominated and elected members. Since there is a clear procedure for nomination of teacher representative in these positions, it is typical that each of the administration makes it their case that they will elect members who will, in turn, cast their vote to favor the nominated groups which he or she belongs to (Pranab Kumar, 2009). This is essentially a process of restricting voters instead of teachers in the decision-making organs of the university, and it is essential that the political affiliation and identity of the person usually plays a critical role in this kind of decisions.
There is a sense in which there are candidates who have an excellent qualification but will never pass through the selection process fundamentally because of the opposing ideology of the other political party and affiliations denotes (Khan 2010). It is very disappointing to note that these issues usually take place regularly and feature most of the times in selection process. It is a secret selection of these issues in the office of the registrar and therefore, it is difficult to expose these vices in the education sector. According to Clarke, & Phelan (2017) Appointment in other sections of the university are done on the merit of political connections, these include the office of the registrar, hall provost, student’s advisers and other posts in the university. Political power in the intra-groups plays an essential role in the making of these appointments. It is those who are politically active and those within the nucleus of the vice chancellor who gets appointed to these jobs. There is a sense in which it is highly regrettable that the appointments into these positions are made due to political considerations rather than academic excellence denotes (Shamim Akhter, 2007).
4. Research Problem
The paper has taken an approach of determing the advantages of the involvement of teachers and dons in active and partisan politics in Bangladesh. This is because there has been massive witnessing of teachers engaging in active politics both within the domain of the higher education and on the outside platforms. Of interest is that there has been a qualitative analysis of the benefits and the disadvantages of these teachers engaging in active politics. Fundamentally, their involvement in partisan politics has largely affected the quality of education in Bangladesh, and there is dire need to ban teachers and dons from such activities lest the next generation of workforce will be half baked and superfluous in the global development arena.
5. Recruitment of the study sample
The paper has used secondary sources as the means of gaining information about teacher involvement in active politics in Bangladesh. The research took the case study of the University of Rajshahi four teachers where introduced to the study according to a journal which had been published earlier. In the journal, the teachers were given the guidelines on how to exercise and conduct themselves during the study as well as the principles and ethics of conducting research. The aspect of anonymity was guaranteed. Also, the study collected several case studies which has been in the media and other sources of information such as the internet and the books. The University of Rajshahi was chosen as a designated case study because it was the most mentioned in the allegations of teachers and the institution’s administration being entrenched into politics, in within the school, and to the public. Commentaries and criticisms have been used in the enriching of the research especially those which deal with the higher education in Bangladesh.
6. Data collection method
The study conducted in a secondary manner approach where the data was collected by compiling some of the reports on the cases of teacher involvements in partisan politics in Bangladesh. It was an analytical determination and analysis of the reports from different sources of information about the entrenchment of partisan politics in Bangladesh. This was primarily because the issue of negative political involvement of teachers in within the operations of the university is not ussually well revealed. The university which was adversely mentioned in reports of this teacher involvement was picked as a case study and deeper analysis on the same was done. Also, data was collected on the basis of the ratings of the work force which was being churned out by the universities before the enactment of the 1971 University Act. Also, there was a relative sampling of the date of the ratings of the quality of the public universities and private universities in Bangladesh. This was an approach which was done by consulting the information of the situation form online published sources.
7. Data Analysis & interpretation
The analysis of the finding of the research was done in a manner that common issues of partisan engagement were identified. This was in the context of the information which teachers in these universities and the activities which were extraordinary from the normal procedures of an academic institution. It was then deduced that this kind of political inclination of teacher and dons in higher education has detrimental effects on the education sector and the society at large. It is determinable that most of these universities have turned away from their novel mandate and turned into serving the interests of a selected few. It is in this case that there is a challenge in the education sector in fulfilling its obligation of producing knowledgeable people to the service of the society. The politicization of the administration of the university and the top organs. Which makes decisions is an indicator that they have turned away from being centers of excellence and become avenues of practicing political interests. The politicization of universities and taking of partisan sides in the manner of selecting the university top brass is akin to turning it into a political entity where procedures of political life are used. It is a grave matter to find a situation where people with academic excellence have been discriminated in getting appointments due to the political ideology which they are prescribed.
An example of this situation which had a politicized recruitment process in the University of Raj Shahi when the Departmental Planning Committee recommended the recruitment of lecturers. These were to be posted in the Department of public administration and is the case; eight candidates applied for the positions as advertised. In the candidates, six of them had three first classes, and the rest 2 of them had four first classes. The committee for selection recruited six of the candidates against the wishes of the department to recruit only three lecturers. What is of interest is that one of the candidates who had four first classes was not among those who were recruited. Sources in the selection panel revealed that the candidate was rejected because her father was a supporter loyal to the Awami politics laments (Pranab Kumar, 2009).
Also, it is a grave matter in that the politicization of the recruitment process may have a detrimental effect on the quality of education of the universities concerned. This is the precept that these universities may have less qualified candidates who will get the selected to be teachers and they do not deserve to be teachers. This will be then a group of teachers who will lack the necessary means and the knowledge to undertake quality pedagogical approaches in their duties (Clarke, & Phelan, 2017). They will lack the necessary knowledge which will affect the means of addressing teaching issues in the post graduate and graduate level students. There is a sense in which one will determine that the students will have knowledge gaps on the contents which they are exposed to by the lecturers. This will, in turn, make the students lack the ability to derive new ideas and have adequate knowledge regarding their level of education.
Another critical issue which is worth mentioning is that there is a substantial decrease in the manner of production of scholarly materials about publishing quality papers, conducting research, attending to educational forums and so on. This is in the sense that promotions to the next level are made through political power and affiliations. Therefore, when it comes to promotions, it is not easy to define those who are genuine scholars and academicians and those who are politicians in the name of scholars. It is typical that when someone works hard for something, he or she will eventually lose motivation on that aspect and it will then hinder his or her progress (Bangladesh Economic Association, 2004). There will be the creation of serious vacuums in universities since some of the people therein will opt to go to seek new and greener avenues. Some of the universities require that to be promoted, one only needs to have two published works forms two journals and therefore if someone has eight publications from the international platforms, he or she deserves recognition. Failure to this will make individuals leave the education sector and move out to seek new opportunities.
There is a sense in which one can ascertain that the engagement of teachers in partisan politics influences the part of the students. Most of the dons and lectures are likely to have a high influence on the way they conduct themselves in within the university. It is therefore determinable that most of the students will emulate teachers in engaging in politics both in the university and in the national arena. Most of the times are when the students influence the selection of the vice chancellor and other deans of the universities. This is done by having students’ demonstrations and unrest in the airing of their grievances (Bangladesh Economic Association, 2004). It is on this platform where future leaders of the nation are bred, which comes as a spoil over effect for the teachers engaging in partisan politics. There is a sense in which one can argue that this is advantageous because it calls for the enrollment of future leaders into the national arena. This is a context which cannot be overlooked since there is always the need for future leaders at any given time.
It is also determinable that these teachers have a high impact on the knowledge which they have on the students. Being knowledgeable of the political landscape makes one a model to other people he or she encounters. Many are the times when partisan politics is considering of making new ideologies and philosophies which can be used to move the country forward. The soul of the nation is counted on, by the students. It is naturally a precipice for the rhythm of the nation and the outward manifestations of the development of the whole country. In this case, having a section of the university having pressure groups and interest groups is one of the issues which can make progress in both universities and the nation at large.
Students and teachers are involved in national politics and would result in the making of the national politics. It is in this manner that teachers usually sit in forums where there are national issues to be discussed. Their contribution to the knowledgeable side of the nation is one issue which results to influence the direction of the national politics. The disputed Bangladesh national politics saw an upsurge of students in the national politics. The Awami league swept into power, and the country witnessed many riots from students in the universities. This is an indicator that some of the teachers can be involved in the castigating and influencing of the national politics.
It can be attested that it is bygone that the days when the teachers of higher education had a higher impact on the national politics of Bangladesh. They have gone above their mandate of having an enriched national politics and the championing of the rights of the individuals. This is something which has degenerated into the root of the breadth of university life since most of the times; teachers are yearning to occupy the necessary places of the university and stamp their authority there. The students have decayed and degenerated and decayed due to the aspect of national politics and the way in which people have conducted themselves in the political matters (Clarke, & Phelan, 2017). This is in the essence that the University ways of doing operations have been barricaded by personal interest based on political motives.
There times when this is motivated by ill motives which can have a detrimental effect on the issue of the relation of the university and the nation at large. In this case, many times teachers have had to fulfill dump decisions and implement policies which are aimed at fulfilling the interest of partisan politics. There is a sense in which universities have been turned into dens of wayward people and poor leadership. This is when the administration of the university in its own capacity attempts to give privileges to a selected few especially those who are loyal to party inclined to the administration. In this regard, the quality of leadership bestowed in the university is highly undermined, where the teachers who are in the senate are reduced into mere voters rather being the means for giving information and knowledge to the students (Shamim Akhter, 2007).
8. Discussion
The so-called teacher politics have eroded the high-end academic atmosphere of the university and has since then made it unpalatable to have a progressive growth. All highest seats of learning have been polluted by the vicious teacher politics which has engulfed the Bangladesh institution of higher learning. The nation and the teachers have forgotten the idea that the universities are centers of higher excellence and are expected to be the of high attitude and behavior(Bangladesh Economic Association, 2004). The university social halls have been reduced to places of unnasty and unsocial behaviors and political activities which have been detrimental to the wellbeing of the university. In the university, no one has ever bothered whoever will get the first class and what is considered mostly is the issue of which arms of cadres which everybody must know and recognize. This is in the manner that all the arms cadres are treated VIPs at the expense of the recognition by teachers. This is something which has had serious effects on the matter of having teachers influencing (Shamim Akhter, 2007).
The nerve of the nation has been influenced and poisoned by the teacher politics of the universities. Teachers should be accorded the highest degree of honor, and it is disappointing that these acrimonious politics has left them to be exposed to all manner of corruption which is detrimental to the development of the nation. Systems of higher education have been left as avenues of allegiances to corruption and have therefore resulted in breaking of the rhythm of the nation where political loyalty is more essential in jobs rather than academic prowess and excellence. This kind of blind political loyalty on the part of the vicechancellors is largely a heinous crime which should be abolished on the onset. It is determinable that this kind of loyalty will only bring bad faith in the operations of the university and result in the poor quality of education given to students. When the recruitment process of the teachers is based on the political loyalty and affiliations, it is not surprising that the institutions will produce half-baked and superfluous students who have no importance and skills to the nation.
As noted earlier, Bangladesh needs a knowledgeable and skilled workforce which cannot be achieved by the kinds of political affiliations witnessed in the universities. There needs to have a clear indication of what a university is, an institution of higher education or an institution which is used to settle political scores. The nation needs a workforce which has been gone through all the better aspects of education and not political recruitment and awarding of loyalty. Many are the times when the teachers who have students supporting the Awami league are never put first when being considered for students of the other political factions and vice versa. These kinds of retrogressive political loyalty education are detrimental for the creation of the necessary skilled workforce necessary for the development of the nation.
Despite that one can argue that there is a benefit to the politics which are done in universities, there is absence in which Bangladesh at its critical point requires institutions of higher education which is straight forward in the maintenance of the status of them as centers of excellence. The political moves which are donein the universities in promotions and recruitment cannot be allowed to progress and taint the image of accredited schools. It is therefore essential that many of the institutions should sanitize the institutions and ban all kinds of political affiliations of its schools. There should be no time when the recruitment of teachers and lecturers would be merited regarding political loyalty and other affiliations. Scholarly work cannot be politicized and therefore requires the institutions to take bold steps towards the making the education sector worth the name which it is billed upon. National politics and those of the institutions should not mix, and despite that it is a basic right, there needs to a boundary between the two issues.
9. Suggestions
The cause of this menace in public university is the autonomy which was granted to the Universities in the Ordinances of 1973. This is Act of government which has created a superfluous university teaching and student fraternity which has reduced the level and the quality of education. This is something which deserves to be revoked, and politics in higher education be banned altogether. Many are times when the university has had to implement the desires of a few in the helm of leadership. It can, therefore, be argued that comes a time when the nation is greater than the interest of the ruling class. The people of Bangladesh need to understand that for the sake of the development of the nation, they need to have a nation which practices fewer politics in its institutions and encourages the spirit of nationhood in all its institutions. Higher education in Bangladesh has reached a point where it needs to have a non-partisan leadership and leadership of clear conscience. Politics should be left for the politicians and teachers should serve the interest of academics. Conflict of interest in these two domains of life are proving costly for a developing nation like Bangladesh.
Many are times when the teachers and the students have been used by the leadership to serve the interest of the ruling class. Since regimes have incorporated teachers and dons of public universities into their campaign fronts, there need to have a margin on the extent in which they participate. It is typical for the intellectuals of the nation to give the views in the aspect of providing opinions and ideas to the nation. Guided leadership is essential for the people of Bangladesh and being a large democracy; there is a sense in which the participation of teachers can assist in nation building. However, the current situation in the country is wanting, and radical changes to the system of governance and the stakeholders in public offices need to be checked. Recruiting of voters instead of teachers into the helm is something detrimental to the life and act of the universities in that nation. This is when the need for literacy and skilled labor force is needed to create a nation of professionals capable of marching the country forward. Nonetheless, the banning of teachers from engaging in partisan politics is something which will bring positive change to the nation and the credibility of the public universities in Bangladesh.
10. Conclusion
In Bangladesh, the institution of higher education highereducation in most of the underdeveloped countries have been marred by patronage, favoritism, and corruption in many of the operation which happens therein. When the systems of education are politicized, there is a sense in which its vision becomes a dream than a reality. Rendering these institutions as centers of education has reduced them from their mandate from being centers of excellence. These are issues which should be overcome, and the government should do some several issues to ensure sanity in the university. For example, the administrations should reduce the influence they have on the recruitment process of universities and other operations, and the vice chancellors should be free from being puppets of the government. This is something which should be left to the Senate and other in within stakeholders of the university. Also, there is a dire need to review the 1973 University Act, which gave much power and influence to people to people undeserving it.
References
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Pranab Kumar, P. (2009). “Revitalizing Raj Shahi University.” The Daily Star, (01/07/2009.).
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Shawkat, M., & Ali, M. (2004). Bangladesh Civil Service. A Political Administrative Perspective, the University Press Limited(Dhaka).
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