Bangladesh Scraps Music PE Teachers After Islamist Pressure

Facing mounting pressure from hardline Islamic clerics, Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has scrapped its plan to appoint music and physical education teachers in government-run primary schools — a decision that has stirred debate over the country’s secular education system.

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education announced on Monday that the newly created posts for music and physical education teachers have been removed from the amended recruitment rules. The original framework, introduced in August, had proposed four categories of assistant teachers, but the revised version retains only two.

Ministry official Masud Akhtar Khan confirmed the update, stating, “The posts of assistant teachers for music and physical education are not in the new rules.” He, however, declined to comment on whether the decision was influenced by Islamist groups.

The move follows intense opposition from several Islamist organisations, including Hefazat-e-Islam, Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolon Bangladesh, Khelafat Majlish, and Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon, who denounced the recruitment of music and physical education teachers as part of an “un-Islamic and atheistic agenda.”

At a large rally in September, clerics accused the Yunus administration of promoting “anti-Islamic values” in schools. Syed Rezaul Karim, chief of Islami Andolon Bangladesh, warned that the “religion-loving people of Bangladesh” would take to the streets if the government didn’t comply.

The groups claimed that introducing music and physical education in primary schools would “corrupt children’s morals” and “destroy their faith.” They instead demanded that government schools appoint only religious instructors.

Observers say this reversal highlights the growing influence of Islamist factions over Bangladesh’s interim administration. The decision mirrors earlier instances where the Yunus government reportedly caved to religious demands — including shelving a proposed women’s reform commission after clerics branded it “anti-Islamic.”

Analysts warn that the move could erode Bangladesh’s secular foundations and embolden religious hardliners. Critics argue that the country, once celebrated for its cultural pluralism, now risks sliding toward Taliban-style conservatism in education and governance.

The Yunus administration’s latest capitulation underscores a shifting power dynamic, as Islamist groups grow bolder in dictating national policy — threatening the delicate balance between religion and secularism in Bangladesh’s social fabric.