Leaders of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union, or DUCSU, protested in heavy rain outside the university’s central library on August 10, demanding the withdrawal of a decision to shift entry-level teacher recruitment in private educational institutions from NTRCA to managing committees and governing bodies. Demonstrators chanted slogans calling for merit-based recruitment rather than committee-led appointments.

DUCSU Vice President Sadik Kayem said a stronger movement than the July movement would be built if the decision was not revoked. He called for restoring the previous system under which NTRCA centrally recommended teacher appointments for schools and colleges. DUCSU leaders alleged that local committees could enable political influence, bribery and nepotism, undermining recruitment based on merit and qualifications.

The Education Ministry made the decision at a meeting on August 3, applying it from the 19th teacher registration examination. DUCSU announced a student gathering at 3 p.m. on August 11 outside the central library and urged students and job seekers from colleges and universities to join. Jatiya Chhatra Shakti and some students also announced separate programmes over the same demand.

Students and members of the influential Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) protested outside the Mizoram Public Service Commission (MPSC) office in Aizawl, Mizoram’s capital, on Monday. They demanded administrative reforms in recruitment, additional staffing, and the withdrawal of the contested One Time Registration (OTR) system. Protesters staged a sit-in outside the office and prevented officials and employees from entering.

According to a Press Trust of India report, some protesters scuffled with police when officials attempted to enter the office, although the demonstration was peaceful overall. MZP alleged that repeated administrative weaknesses and errors in recent recruitment processes had reduced job seekers’ confidence in the commission. The organisation said the OTR system had also created concern among applicants.

The protesters called for structural reform of the MPSC and for more staff to make its operations more efficient and credible. They also sought separate application forms based on requirements and posts instead of the current OTR system. MZP demanded a one-time offline document-submission opportunity for applicants rejected over incomplete OTR uploads, and reconsideration for written-test qualifiers disqualified during document verification because of missing papers.

University Teachers Link, or UTL, has strongly opposed an initiative to place responsibility for entry-level teacher recruitment at private schools, colleges and madrasas in the hands of institutional management committees. In a statement sent to the media on Monday, UTL President Professor Dr Md Atiar Rahman and General Secretary Professor Dr Zubair Muhammad Ehsanul Haque called on the government to immediately cancel the decision.

UTL leaders said implementing the move could restore opportunities for political and local influence, nepotism, bribery and irregularities in teacher appointments. They said recruiting talented, qualified and skilled teachers is a principal condition for ensuring quality education. The group maintained that teacher recruitment should not be subject to political, personal or financial influence and should instead be based on merit, qualifications, skills and professional capability.

The statement said the NTRCA-based system used since 2015 for recruitment at private MPO-listed educational institutions has enabled competitive examinations and merit-based appointments, while ensuring transparency and accountability to a considerable extent. UTL said any limitations in that system should be reformed and modernized rather than returning to an older arrangement that could create room for irregularities. It urged stronger, more effective NTRCA recruitment mechanisms and safeguards for transparency and accountability.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has condemned and protested an Education Ministry initiative to give managing committees authority to recruit entry-level teachers at private schools, colleges and madrasas. In a statement sent to the media on August 10, the party’s secretary general, Mia Golam Parwar, urged the government to cancel the proposed process for MPO-listed private educational institutions.

Parwar said the matter was reportedly decided at an August 3 meeting at the Education Ministry conference room on the overall activities of the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority, or NTRCA. He warned that implementation could revive corruption, nepotism, partisan influence and bribery in teacher recruitment. He said appointing qualified, meritorious and skilled teachers is a key condition for ensuring quality education.

The Jamaat leader said the existing NTRCA recommendation process gives greater weight to merit, qualifications and competitive examinations, helping improve transparency and accountability. He called for shortcomings and complexities in that system to be addressed rather than restoring recruitment authority to managing committees. He also proposed, if necessary, an independent and neutral institutional framework similar to the Public Service Commission for appointments in MPO-listed private institutions.

Education Minister Ehsanul Haque Milon said no final decision has been made on returning teacher recruitment authority to managing committees at private schools and colleges. He conveyed the government’s position to the media on Monday, August 10, 2026.

The minister said there has been no conclusive decision to give managing committees the power to appoint teachers. The process for appointments will be determined after the selection of 77,000 teachers is completed.

His clarification followed recent reports in several media outlets that recruitment authority could be restored to the managing committees or governing boards of private educational institutions. The minister outlined the government’s position amid that discussion.

Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam has condemned a decision to hand managing committees authority to recruit teachers at MPO-listed schools and colleges, calling it a blueprint to destroy the country’s education system and impose extreme partisan control. In a post on his verified Facebook page on Monday, reported on August 10, 2026, he demanded the decision be withdrawn immediately.

Islam said the move would take away what he described as the last refuge for educated unemployed youth. He alleged that recruitment in schools and colleges would no longer be possible without bribery, nepotism and political considerations. According to him, qualified and talented young people would be deprived while unqualified people could be appointed through political influence and corruption.

He also warned that appointing unqualified teachers would seriously harm educational standards. Islam said the foundation for building the knowledge and skills of future generations would weaken, potentially bringing severe long-term consequences for the nation. The lawmaker urged the immediate withdrawal of what he called a plan pushing young people’s futures and the education system toward destruction.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman urged every citizen to fulfil their responsibilities from their respective positions to build the Bangladesh envisioned by martyrs of the July mass uprising. He made the call on Monday at the Cabinet Division meeting room in the Secretariat during a ceremony honouring and providing financial assistance to family members of Bangladesh Scouts martyrs from the uprising. Deputy press secretary Sujauddoula conveyed the matter.

Rahman said those who sacrificed their lives for the country in 1971 and 2024 sought to establish people's rights. Their goal, he said, was a Bangladesh where basic needs are met and everyone can live in peace. He said no one can repay the debt owed for the martyrs' sacrifices, adding that honouring them requires more than remembrance and demands work for the country by those who remain alive.

The prime minister urged Bangladesh Scouts members to serve the country and its people, stand beside others and develop a sense of responsibility toward nature. Ten members of martyrs' families received special honours, financial grant cheques and medals. Bangladesh Scouts President Nasimul Gani called for the martyrs' contributions and sacrifices to be included in the national curriculum.

Leaders of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union, or DUCSU, protested in the rain on Monday night, August 10, 2026, against a proposal to restore teacher recruitment through managing committees or local boards. DUCSU vice president Sadik Kayem attended the demonstration.

Protesters chanted slogans calling for education over commerce and merit over money. They also rejected committees in favour of merit, and used slogans demanding jobs rather than connections through uncles or maternal uncles, highlighting concerns over merit-based recruitment.

The proposal was raised at a Ministry of Education meeting and would replace the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority, or NTRCA, with managing committees or local boards in the recruitment process. The proposal to revive the previous system has triggered strong reactions among active student organisations and leaders of various political parties.

The High Court granted interim bail to former Awami League-aligned chief justice Khairul Haque in a case under the attempted murder and Explosives Control Act. The order was issued Monday by a bench of Justice KM Zahid Sarwar and Justice Sheikh Abu Taher. His lawyers said the latest bail means he has now secured bail in all cases filed against him.

The court also issued a rule asking why Haque should not be granted regular bail in the case. Senior lawyers Md Mansurul Haque Chowdhury and Motahar Hossain Saju, along with lawyer Munaem Nabi Shaheen, represented Haque. Deputy Attorney General Syeda Sajia Sharmin appeared for the state.

Lawyer Motahar Hossain Saju said there is no longer any legal obstacle to Haque's release from prison. After the July mass uprising, detectives of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested him from his Dhanmondi residence on July 24, 2025. That night, he was shown arrested in the murder case of Jubo Dal worker Abdul Qaiyum Ahad in Jatrabari and sent to jail, where he has remained since then.

Students at Jagannath University staged a protest march on Monday, August 10, demanding that the NTRCA’s central recommendation system for teacher recruitment in private educational institutions be retained. The protesters opposed a proposed decision to shift recruitment to committees. The march began from the university’s open library premises in the afternoon.

Students from different departments, registered job seekers and people seeking transparency in teacher recruitment joined the demonstration. The procession moved through different parts of the campus, passed the main gate and headed toward Johnson Road. Participants chanted slogans demanding recognition of merit, retention of NTRCA and an end to nepotism in teacher recruitment.

Protesters said NTRCA has long recommended teacher appointments on the basis of merit, qualifications and examinations. They argued that returning the process to managing committees or governing bodies could undermine transparency and accountability, while creating opportunities for irregularities, lobbying and bias. The gathering called for merit-based recruitment and consideration of students’ and job seekers’ concerns, warning of broader programmes if their demands are not met.

A recent mutual defense agreement among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, known as the Mecca Pact, could strengthen India and Israel’s strategic partnership, according to a report published on August 10, 2026. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone last Thursday about recent developments in West Asia and reviewed progress in their “special strategic partnership,” Modi said in posts issued in English and Hebrew.

The day after the call, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a broad defense agreement in Mecca. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said it includes a provision modeled on NATO’s Article 5, treating an attack on one member as an attack on all. Analysts cited in the report said the emerging alignment complicates expectations of drawing Saudi Arabia closer to Israel within a US-led regional security framework.

India’s Foreign Ministry rejected reports of an urgent new India-Israel mutual defense pact as false, while spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi was closely monitoring the Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan arrangement. The report said cooperation between India and Israel could deepen on IMEC, defense technology, intelligence sharing and regional security.

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh has demanded the immediate removal of sculptures depicting its leaders and activists from the July Museum. In a joint statement sent to the media on Monday, the group’s ameer, Allama Shah Muhibbullah Babunagari, and secretary general, Allama Shayekh Sajidur Rahman, described the installations as a grave violation of Sharia and a mockery of the sacrifices made by Islamic scholars. The report was published on August 10, 2026.

The two leaders said that, in their view, constructing sculptures of any person is forbidden and unlawful under Sharia, regardless of an individual’s political identity or contribution. They argued that creating sculptures in the name of preserving the memory of scholars who worked to protect Islamic beliefs and values contradicts Islamic rules. They also called it a painful and unprecedented contradiction.

Hefazat said the nation should remember the July 2024 uprising, its martyrs and participants with respect, but should not place that remembrance against religious sentiment and Islamic values. It proposed preserving written histories, documents and records in the museum, and including related history in national textbooks. The group warned that scholars would not remain silent if the sculptures are not removed.

Student Dal and Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir leaders reached an understanding to ease recent tensions at Dhaka Alia Madrasa in the capital. At a meeting held on Sunday, August 9, they agreed not to blame one another over past incidents and to work toward a peaceful campus environment and coexistence.

Dhaka-7 lawmaker Md Hamidur Rahman Hamid mediated for BNP, while Dhaka-5 lawmaker Md Kamal Hossain mediated for Jamaat. A deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, the madrasa vice-principal and teachers, DUCSU general secretary SM Farhad, and leaders and activists from both student groups attended. Shibir central publicity secretary SM Farhad confirmed the meeting.

Farhad said the discussion focused on maintaining a positive and peaceful environment going forward. Participants made a positive decision to move away from conflict and emphasized student safety and normal educational activities. They also said concerns involving students affected by recent events would be addressed through discussions with the institution's principal. After the meeting, Shibir branch president Md Abdul Alim and a Student Dal leader were seen embracing, drawing applause from those present.

Speakers at a Monday discussion at the National Press Club called for Bangladesh to strengthen its defence capacity to protect national security, maritime boundaries and marine resources in the Bay of Bengal. The event, organised by Anti-Imperialism Civil Society, was titled “Sovereignty Strategy for the Bangladesh State in the New Global and Regional Geopolitical Context.” Participants said Bangladesh should maintain balanced relations with the United States, Western countries and China.

Political scientist Professor Dilara Chowdhury said modern domination can be exercised through influence over a country’s institutions, resources and public consciousness, rather than territorial occupation alone. Citing interest from multiple major powers in the Bay of Bengal, she urged greater capability to safeguard the area. She also said international agreements should be made public and discussed in parliament. Former chief prosecutor Tajul Islam stressed reducing dependence on foreign weapons and technology by developing a domestic defence industry.

Press secretary Shafiqul Alam said military strengthening should accompany strong democracy, political space for opposition parties, minority rights and human rights. He cited gaps in air power, drone production, ballistic technology and air defence. Retired Major Del H Khan called for naval modernisation and a long-term national policy on security and sovereignty.

Hasnat Abdullah, NCP’s chief organiser for the southern region and a member of parliament, has called for cancelling a decision to give educational institution managing committees authority to recruit teachers. In a Facebook post published on August 10, he said the move could destroy the education system and open the way for partisan influence.

Abdullah said teacher recruitment should be transparent, impartial and based on merit, rather than local influence or political considerations. He argued that the decision must be withdrawn to protect educational standards and the neutrality of institutions.

The Education Ministry has made a final decision to hand managing committees recruitment authority for entry-level teachers at private schools and colleges. As a result, the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority, or NTRCA, will no longer be able to recommend teacher appointments. The decision was taken at an August 3 meeting on NTRCA’s overall activities at the ministry’s conference room, attended by Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Haq Milon and other relevant officials.