Political Leaders Must First Be Corruption-Free to Stop Corruption: Law Minister

To stop corruption effectively in the country, the political leadership and leaders themselves must first become corruption-free, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman has said. He made the remark on Wednesday morning (21 October) while speaking as chief guest at a views-exchange meeting with local teachers and journalists at Shailkupa in Jhenaidah.

The Law Minister made clear that the first condition for eliminating corruption is ensuring the honesty of the very political leadership that speaks of ending it. Without that, he said, all state initiatives in this regard will end in failure.

Addressing the teachers at the meeting, the minister said that in the current context, keeping pace with the mindset of the new generation of students is becoming a bigger challenge for teachers by the day.

Expressing deep concern that a section of young society is turning towards drugs, he said teachers must think in new ways beyond conventional approaches to protect the future generation from the terrible grip of drugs, and that teachers themselves must take timely, well-planned steps to guide students onto the right path.

The Law Minister issued a stern warning against any kind of financial transaction in the recruitment of teachers and staff at educational institutions. He stated plainly that if evidence of any money changing hands in recruitment is found, no one involved will be spared.

At the same time, criticising the arbitrariness of managing committee presidents at educational institutions, he said no misconduct or discourteous behaviour by a governing body president towards head teachers will be tolerated.

But the minister cautioned not only the managing committees — he also warned teachers about their own professional responsibility. If any head teacher or person in a responsible position damages an institution's proper educational environment by engaging in financial irregularities or plunder, that too will not be acceptable in any way, he noted.

Teachers from various private schools, colleges and madrasas of the upazila, along with journalists from print and electronic media, attended the views-exchange meeting at Shailkupa.

The minister's remarks brought to the fore both the question of political will against corruption and a message of strictness against institution-centred irregularities — transactions in recruitment, arbitrariness of committees and administrative plunder.

It remains to be seen how effective the minister's warning proves at the field level — particularly what steps the authorities concerned take over the allegations of irregularities in recruitment and management at educational institutions.