The High Court has issued a rule asking why the provision prohibiting MPO-enlisted teachers from transferring from one institution to another within their home district should not be declared illegal and unconstitutional.
The High Court division bench, comprising Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan, issued the order on Monday, 9 November.
The order followed the preliminary hearing of a writ petition filed by 13 teachers challenging the validity of Clause 3.4 of the Transfer Policy 2026.
The court has directed the respondents to reply to the rule within four weeks.
Advocate Mohammad Humaun Kabir Pallob represented the petitioners in court.
He explained that Clause 3.4 of the MPO Teachers’ Transfer Policy 2026 allows a teacher to apply for a transfer only from another district to their home district.
However, it contains no provision for transferring from one institution to another, or from one upazila to another, within the same district.
Advocate Pallob pointed out that because of this restriction, even if a teacher is working at an institution located hundreds of kilometres away from home within their home district, they cannot apply for a transfer to another institution in that district.
He noted that a district consists of multiple upazilas, and the distances between them can be vast.
The lawyer added that nearly 85,000 posts for MPO-enlisted teachers are currently vacant in schools and colleges across the country.
Approximately 13,000 teachers have applied against these vacant posts.
He argued that the restriction in Clause 3.4 deprives teachers of the opportunity to change institutions within their home district.
The writ petition filed on behalf of the 13 teachers challenged this specific clause of the policy.
Following the hearing, the court asked the relevant respondents to explain within four weeks why Clause 3.4 should not be declared illegal and unconstitutional.
