The existing system of teacher transfer in public educational institutions, including schools and colleges, breeds ‘corruption’, says the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), reports UNB. The national anti-graft agency came up with the observation in its Annual Report 2016 submitted to President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban on Wednesday last. It says some ‘chosen’ teachers are given permanent posting to apparently better government schools and colleges by creating 'options’, paving the path for the officials concerned to indulge in corruption, unlike private educational institutions.
In non-government schools and colleges, there is no ‘posting trade’. So, the teachers have to work sincerely being happy where they are since they have no option to get transferred elsewhere. To check corruption in the education sector, the Commission recommended taking steps either to repeal the existing teacher transfer system or announce a transparent policy for government educational institutions. Besides, the anti-graft agency suggested the authorities concerned to formulate a specific policy to determine the fee of physicians and whether public doctors can go for private practice.
The ACC also stressed the need for introducing a health insurance policy for the country's all citizens aiming to ensure healthcare facility to every citizen. “The government can take steps to give premiums of heath insurance policy. Money from the premiums could be allocated to the Heath Ministry so that salaries and allowances of government doctors and nurses and officials of the ministry could be given from the allocation,” the ACC annual report mentions.
The Commission recommended appointing specialist doctors to upazila and zila-level hospitals to provide quality treatment and healthcare facilities to common people. Underscoring the need for giving incentives to young doctors in building their career, the ACC urged the government to take a long-term plan enabling the young physicians to obtain higher degrees from abroad. The ACC, in its Annual Rerport-2016, presented 56 recommendations for taking steps by the authorities concerned to deal with corruption in the country's 10 sectors.
About the Commission's overall activities, the report says the ACC received nearly 13,000 graft allegations in 2016, and the Commission initiated probes into 1,007 of the allegations, while sent 588 allegations to the departments or ministries concerned for taking necessary department actions.
The ACC filed 359 graft cases in 2016 while it arrested 13 graft suspects red-handed while taking bribe and filed 'trap cases' against them. Besides, the ACC officials arrested 388 graft suspects in 2016 in different graft cases.
The Commission has formed 21,000 Satata Sanghas (integrity units) at secondary schools and madrasas across the country in 2016 to keep the future generation away from corruption.
The ACC held 30 public hearings in 2016 to create awareness at grassroots level against corruption, according to the report.