Bangladesh Removes Music and PE Posts After Clerical Backlash

Under pressure from hardline Islamic clerics, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has abandoned plans to recruit music and physical education teachers for state primary schools, a move that has revived debate over the country's secular education policy.

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education said on Monday that the newly created assistant teacher posts for music and physical education have been taken out of the amended recruitment rules. The original August proposal had outlined four categories of assistant teachers; the revised rules now list only two.

Ministry official Masud Akhtar Khan confirmed the change, saying, "The posts of assistant teachers for music and physical education are not in the new rules." He declined to state whether the alteration was made in response to demands from Islamist groups.

The decision follows intense opposition from several Islamist organisations, including Hefazat-e-Islam, Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolon Bangladesh, Khelafat Majlish and Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon, which condemned the recruitment of music and PE instructors as part of an "un-Islamic and atheistic agenda."

At a large rally in September, clerics accused the Yunus administration of pushing "anti-Islamic values" into schools. Syed Rezaul Karim, leader of Islami Andolon Bangladesh, warned that the "religion-loving people of Bangladesh" would mobilise if the government failed to comply.

The groups argued that introducing music and physical education would "corrupt children's morals" and "destroy their faith," and demanded that government schools employ only religious instructors instead.

Observers say the reversal highlights the increasing clout of Islamist factions within the interim administration. The move mirrors earlier episodes in which the Yunus government reportedly yielded to clerical pressure, such as shelving a proposed women's reform commission after similar objections by religious leaders.

Analysts caution that the decision could weaken Bangladesh's secular foundations and embolden religious hardliners. Critics warn the country risks moving toward more conservative, religion-driven approaches in education and governance.

The Yunus administration's latest concession signals a changing power dynamic, with Islamist groups growing more assertive in influencing national policy and testing the balance between religion and secularism in Bangladeshi society.