Staff Correspondent

BNP Standing Committee Member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan on Thursday said there can be no alternative to elected public representatives in a democratic system.

“If we truly believe in democracy, we must also believe in representation. Those who make decisions for the country must come as elected representatives of the people,” he said.

The BNP leader made the remarks while speaking at a discussion organised by Nagorik Oikya at the Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium.

He said professionals can and should provide expert advice to policymakers, but the final decisions must rest with the elected representatives.

“Yes, professionals can offer policy options, but the final decision must remain in the hands of the public representatives,” the BNP leader said.

Turning to the state of education, Dr Moyeen said the country’s education system has been deliberately destroyed over the past 15 years.

“The aim was clear that if education is ruined, the nation will be ruined too. Because then, people will lose the ability to reason, to distinguish between right and wrong, and to protest injustice,” he said.

The BNP leader expressed concern that it may take a long time to recover from this ‘destruction’, but said teachers can play the most vital role in rebuilding the education system. “No matter what the government or politicians do, if teachers unite and take a vow to educate the nation, I believe it is possible to bring real change,” he said.

Drawing an example from Germany, Dr Moyeen said the country’s progress is rooted in its strong belief in education. “In Germany, it used to be said that if you threw a stone into the sky, it would either hit a priest or a PhD holder. That was because people there truly valued education,” he said.

The BNP leader noted that in Germany there was no fixed time limit to complete a degree. “Students studied until they became truly educated. When asked what they wanted to do after graduation, most said they wanted to be teachers — that was their national philosophy.”

Terming the recent police action against teachers “heartbreaking”, Moyeen Khan said, “It is deeply shameful that in a civilised country, police would charge batons or fire tear gas on teachers. There can be no more disgraceful incident than this.”

He said as a teacher himself, he was personally pained by such actions. “Yes, I am a teacher, not a typical politician. I cannot adapt to the conventional politics of this country. Even now, I teach and give lectures whenever I can. So, when I see teachers being humiliated, it truly hurts.”

Moyeen also criticised the government for offering only Tk 500 as house rent allowance to teachers. “They have rejected it. Did they commit any crime? In today’s economy, can anyone rent a house for Tk 500?”

He questioned why, despite many reform committees in various sectors, no education reform committee has been formed. “Education is the foundation of national progress. If we fail to prioritise it, no amount of slogans will bring real development.”