Yunus government scraps hiring music, dance teachers after Islamists protest
What's the story
The interim government of Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh has scrapped its plans to hire music and physical education teachers for government primary schools. The decision comes after intense pressure from hardline Islamic clerics who had labeled the move "un-Islamic, forced and irrelevant." The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education announced on Monday that it had canceled the newly created posts for music teachers in government primary schools.
Official statement
Ministry official confirms posts removed
"Although the rules issued last August had four categories of posts, two categories have been included in the amendment. The posts of assistant teachers for music and physical education are not in the new rules," the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education official Masud Akhtar Khan said. However, when asked if this decision was influenced by religious groups, Khan refrained from commenting further.
Opposition voices
Islamist groups demand religious teachers in all schools
Before the reversal, Islamist groups had demanded that government-run primary schools only hire religious teachers. They warned of street protests if their demands were not met. The radical group Hefazat-e Islam called the recruitment of music and physical education teachers an "anti-Islamic agenda." At a September gathering organized by Jatiya Olama Mashayekh Aima Parishad, hardliners from Jamaat-e-Islami and other groups argued that the move was linked to an atheistic philosophy aimed at corrupting schoolchildren's morals.
Warning issued
Islam-loving people will take to streets if demands not met
Islami Andolon Bangladesh's chief Syed Rezaul Karim questioned the decision to appoint music teachers, asking what their intentions were. "When we took religious studies as children, there were separate teachers for Hindus and Muslims. But now, you want to appoint music teachers? What are your intentions?" He warned that "Islam-loving people" would take to the streets if the administration didn't heed their demands. The Deobandi Islamist advocacy group Hefazat-e Islam also called for canceling recruitment rules, labeling them "anti-Islamic agenda."
Threat
Threats to interim leaders
Previously, Islamists had also warned the administration against implementing the proposals of a women's reform commission. One Islamist group even threatened the interim government's leaders that they "wouldn't even get five minutes to escape," referring to Sheikh Hasina's alleged 45-minute time limit to flee Bangladesh amid a student-led protest in August 2024. The protest led to the downfall of her government, and Yunus was announced as head of the interim government.