The Cabinet Division has rejected a proposal to appoint music teachers to government primary schools, Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon informed Parliament on Sunday.
Milon, also the primary and mass education minister, confirmed the decision in a written response to a query from Md Nurul Islam, a lawmaker representing Jamaat-e-Islami, during a parliamentary session.
The session was presided over by Deputy Speaker Kaysar Kamal.
In response to the MP’s enquiry regarding the current status of the controversial assistant teacher (music) post under the Government Primary School Teacher Recruitment Rules 2025, Milon said the Cabinet Division has expressed its non-consent for the creation of the position.
The decision to introduce music education at the primary and secondary levels has been a subject of significant debate within the country’s political and cultural spheres over recent months.
Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, in particular, had been a vocal critic of the move, arguing that introducing music education against the wishes of devout Muslim parents would infringe upon the religious freedom of Muslim students.
The organisation had instead called for the recruitment of religious teachers.
The original “Government Primary School Teacher Recruitment Rules 2025” were gazetted on 28 August 2025 during the interim government tenure. Those rules initially included provisions for the recruitment of assistant teachers for music and physical education alongside general subjects.
However, following sustained protests and objections from various faith-based political and social organisations, the then-interim government was compelled to amend the rules in November last year.
The revised regulations removed the provisions for music and physical education teachers, limiting recruitment to headteachers and general assistant teachers. The Cabinet Division’s final refusal to create the music teacher posts follows this previous amendment.
