Online Desk: The speakers demanded transparency, accountability, and a fair salary structure to eliminate the long-standing salary disparity and professional uncertainty of Qawmi Madrasah teachers.
At the same time, demands have been made to formulate a national minimum wage structure for Qawmi Madrasah teachers, write policies on recruitment and working conditions, and ensure professional training, leave, and other basic benefits.
Speakers made these remarks at an open seminar titled `Salary Inequality of Qawmi Madrasa Teachers: Outline of a National Crisis` organized by the Roots and Roots Foundation (RNR Foundation) at the National Press Club in the capital on Saturday.
At the seminar, Maulana Tofail Ghazali, Director General of Jamia Arabia Nurul Islam in Uttarkhan, Dhaka, said, "Madrasa is not the property of anyone`s father. Those who teach in madrasas are not workers dependent on the personal favor of any person. They are educating a generation. Therefore, the fair value and dignity of their labor must be ensured."
He said, "It is important to set minimum standards for teachers` salaries, working hours, leave and other facilities while respecting the autonomy and religious freedom of Qawmi Madrasas. Madrasas will have autonomy in name, but teachers will receive inhuman salaries, this system cannot continue."
Speakers at the seminar said that a large number of teachers in Qawmi Madrasas are teaching for long hours for very low salaries. In many cases, the monthly salary of a teacher is at a level that is not even enough to meet his minimum living expenses. However, these teachers are responsible for the daily education and supervision of a large number of students in addition to religious and moral education.
They also said that there is a lack of reliable national data on the salaries and working conditions of Qawmi teachers, making it difficult to determine the true scale of the problem and formulate effective policies. Therefore, they demanded an urgent national survey.
The seminar called for formulating specific policies to eliminate gender-based pay disparities by separately surveying the salaries and working conditions of female teachers of women`s Qawmi Madrasas.
The seminar was presided over by Maulana Salahuddin Jahangir, head of the RNR Foundation. Rashidul Alam Mollah moderated the program and presented the keynote.
The seminar was attended by Mufti Maulana Shaikh Muhammad Usman Ghani, Assistant Professor of Ahsania Institute of Sufism, Maulana Saiful Islam, Khatib of Dhanmondi Taqwa Mosque, Ashraf Mahdi, Central Joint Convener of the National Citizens Party (NCP), Ridwan Hasan, Convener of the Bangladesh Green Party, Mir Huzaifa, Hafez Kefayet, Abdus Sattar Aini, Abdul Ghaffar, Saeed Abrar Nadvi, Ahmad Ghalib, Jawad Ahmad, Ruhul Amin Sadi, Ansarul Haque Imran, Sharafat Sharif, among others.
The speakers said that Qawmi Madrasa teachers are playing a role in the educational and moral development of an important segment of society. Ensuring their professional dignity and fair remuneration is not only in the interest of the teachers, but is also directly related to the country`s education and human resource development.
The RNR Foundation said that a realistic national policy discussion on the issues of salary inequality, working conditions, and professional security of the teaching community, while preserving the independence and uniqueness of Qawmi Madrasas, is the demand of the hour.