‘They Destroy Children’s Faith’: Under Islamist Pressure, Yunus Govt Scraps Music, PE Teacher Posts In Bangladesh Schools

Under growing pressure from hardline Islamist clerics, Bangladesh’s interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has withdrawn its plan to appoint music and physical education (PE) teachers in government-run primary schools. Islamists labelled the proposal “un-Islamic, forced, and irrelevant,” threatening mass protests if the administration proceeded. Islamist organisations had fiercely opposed the idea, calling it an “anti-Islamic agenda” meant to “destroy children’s faith.”

The move marks a significant reversal of Yunus’s early efforts to diversify primary education by including cultural learning alongside religious studies, mathematics, and science.  The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education confirmed the amendment, with official Masud Akhtar Khan stating that only two teacher categories remain under the new rules.

“The posts of assistant teachers for music and physical education are not in the new rules,” he said. When asked if the change followed clerical pressure, he declined to comment, responding only, “You can check for yourself.”

ALSO READ: ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman Literally Dropped Best Life Advice You'll Ever Heard

Clerics Warn Of Protests

Opposition to the recruitment drive intensified in September during a major gathering of hardline clerics under the banner of the JatiyaOlamaMashayekhAima Parishad. Representatives from Jamaat-e-Islami, IslamiAndolon Bangladesh, and Hefazat-e-Islam participated, arguing that music education undermines religious values.

At the rally, IslamiAndolon Bangladesh chief Syed Rezaul Karim fiercely criticised the plan. “You want to appoint music teachers? What will they teach? You want to make our children disrespectful, unruly, and characterless? We will never tolerate that,” he declared, adding that “Islam-loving people” would take to the streets in protest.

Islamist organisations accused the initiative of promoting an “atheistic philosophy” designed to corrupt the next generation. They demanded the appointment of only religious instructors, framing the issue as a battle for the country’s Islamic identity.

Growing Influence Of Religious Right

The education reversal follows earlier warnings to the interim administration over proposals from a women’s reform commission. One group cautioned that Yunus’s leadership “wouldn’t even get five minutes to escape” if reforms continued, a chilling reference to the 45 minutes Sheikh Hasina reportedly had to flee Bangladesh in August 2024.

ALSO READ: Why Is Canada Rejecting Indian Students’ Visa Applications? 5 Key Facts Explained

Months before the reversal, student-led protests were infiltrated by Islamist factions whose escalating violence contributed to Hasina’s abrupt departure. The chaos paved the way for Muhammad Yunus to assume control of an interim setup.