Bangladesh SC paves way for reintroduction of secular education

Realising its folly in mixing religion with politics, Bangladesh has decided to reintroduce secular education in the country. The decision has come in the wake of a landmark judgement of the country’s Supreme Court. Addressing a convention of teachers, Shafique Ahmed, law minister, informed that the judgement has allowed reintroduction of the original spirit of the 1972 constitution.

The minister has disclosed that a draft education policy has already been prepared by the government to instil the spirit of secularism in the system. He informed about a similar move was planned by the Awami League government way back in mid 1970s to reintroduce secular education system in the country. At that time, the apex court had ruled a 1979 constitutional amendment to pave way for secular education in the country illegal. Even then, religion-based politics could not gather the steam to flourish in the country.
 
Through the original constitution of 1972, four fundamental aspects of nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism were laid down as the basis for education in the country.
 
Ruling the Fifth Amendment illegal and upholding the original 1972 constitution, the apex court gave a milestone judgement earlier this week. That decision by the apex court also paved the way for secular education that had been held captive by the post 1975 military backed regimes in Bangladesh.
 
Brushing aside the propaganda unleashed by the Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Ahmed compared the move to nullify Fifth Amendment with establishment of the true religion, rather than hurting the sentiments of religion.
 
While the move has been welcomed by the Awami League-led grand alliance government, the BNP has bought time to go through the full text of the verdict before formulating a policy on the issue. Taking a dig at the judgement, Jamaat-e-Islami, BNP's key partner in the earlier four-party coalition government, finds the move a deliberate attempt by the court and government to ban Islamic politics.