Standing Committee on Ministry of Education

parliamentary_committee · partial (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head: —
Role: Chairman
Annual budget: —
Staff: —
Established: 1972
Legal basis: Constitution of Bangladesh, Article 76 (standing committees shall be appointed for each ministry); Jatiya Sangsad Rules of Procedure, Rules 190-230 (constitution, quorum, powers of summoning witnesses, reporting to parliament).

As of 17 May 2026, no chairman or member list for the 13th parliament's Standing Committee on Ministry of Education has been publicly confirmed. The ministry it shadows is simultaneously managing three high-profile controversies: (1) the May 14 batch appointment of VCs to 11 public universities, widely criticised as partisan by Jamaat, editorial boards, and academics, with Barishal University shut down in active protest; (2) the NCTB curriculum revision process targeting a 2027 rollout of revised secondary-level textbooks with new historical content; and (3) the HSC 2026 uniform question paper reform, the first time all nine general boards will sit a common paper, with exams starting 2 July 2026.

Recent activity

2026-03-12 other 13th Jatiya Sangsad held its inaugural sitting. Five procedural committees were constituted on the opening day; ministry-level standing committees including for Education were deferred pending a 14-member special legislative scrutiny committee that operated as the interim oversight body. ↗↗
2026-03-19 appointment Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon (BNP, Chandpur-1) announced plans to reform the academic calendar, syllabus, and curriculum and directed that technical education be modernised, signalling the ministry's early legislative agenda that the committee will eventually need to scrutinise. ↗↗
2026-04-15 reform Ministry of Education announced that HSC 2026 examinations (starting 2 July 2026) will be held under a single uniform set of question papers across all nine general education boards for the first time, ending decades of board-level variation. Minister Milon cited equal academic standards as the rationale. ↗↗
2026-04-30 other First session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad prorogued after 25 sittings. No ministry-level standing committee chairpersons, including for Education, had been publicly announced during the session. ↗↗
2026-05-04 policy NCTB chairman Md Mahbubul Hoque Patwary opened a four-day residential workshop at the Rural Development Academy in Bogra to revise secondary-level textbooks from 2027, stating corrections would cover historical distortions, include the 2024 student-people uprising, and produce new books by 1 January 2027. ↗↗
2026-05-14 controversy Ministry of Education issued gazette notifications appointing new vice-chancellors to 11 public universities in a single day, including BUET (Prof Ekramul Haque), Comilla University, Islamic University, Barishal University, Noakhali S&T, MBSTU, PUST, and others. Jamaat-e-Islami formally protested, alleging political loyalty was prioritised over merit. The Daily Star editorial noted that the new DU VC holds the position of BNP central committee education affairs secretary, and Prothom Alo and New Age independently confirmed the partisan pattern. Most displaced VCs had been appointed during the Yunus interim government's tenure. ↗↗↗↗↗↗↗
2026-05-15 controversy Teachers at Barishal University entered their third day of complete shutdown, having declared the newly appointed VC (Prof Md Mamun Or Rashid, one of the 11 gazette-notified on 14 May) 'unwanted' on campus. Approximately 60 teachers are engaged in a promotion dispute; two senior faculty resigned from administrative posts in protest. ↗↗↗

Provenance & notes

The Standing Committee on Ministry of Education is constitutionally mandated (Article 76) and must be constituted for every parliament. Under the 11th parliament (2019-2024), it was chaired by an Awami League MP. For the 13th parliament (elected 12 February 2026, sworn 17 February 2026, first session 12 March to 30 April 2026), only five procedural committees were formed during the first session; ministry-level standing committees were deferred. As of 17 May 2026, no primary source confirms the chairman or membership of the 13th parliament's education committee; current_head and head_since are null accordingly. The ministry is held by Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon (BNP, Chandpur-1), who previously served as state minister for education 2001-2006 under PM Khaleda Zia. Bobby Hajjaj (state minister) covers primary and mass education. The dominant live issue in the committee's oversight scope is the May 14, 2026 batch appointment of VCs to 11 public universities via single-day gazette notifications, widely criticised as partisan by Jamaat-e-Islami (formal protest statement by Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar), The Daily Star editorial board, Prothom Alo, and New Age; the new DU VC reportedly holds the post of BNP central committee education affairs secretary. Four of the 11 universities (DU, CU, RU, JU) are legally required to appoint VCs from senate-elected panels, a process that has been repeatedly bypassed. Barishal University is in full shutdown as of 15-17 May 2026 with teachers declaring the new VC unwanted. The NCTB curriculum revision targets 2027 textbooks with new historical content including the 2024 student-people uprising; the HSC 2026 uniform question paper reform is also a significant first. verification_status = partial because: current_head is unconfirmed, committee membership is unannounced, and the parliament.gov.bd committee page for the 13th parliament was not accessible for direct confirmation of the member list.

Standing Committee on Ministry of Education

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