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By Najiur Rahman Sohel

DHAKA, Feb 4, 2026 (BSS) - The interim government has taken a major initiative to resolve the long-standing promotion deadlock and professional stagnation of officers of one of the country's largest BCS cadres-the General Education Cadre.

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) has sent a comprehensive proposal to the Ministry of Education to create a total of 6,921 'supernumerary' (additional) posts for officers from the 21st to the 35th BCS batches of this cadre.

According to the proposal, the initiative is part of a major administrative reform aimed at removing long-standing deprivation of officers and bringing dynamism to education management.

Recently, the Director General of DSHE sent a summary of the proposal to the Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education.

Confirming the matter to BSS, Professor BM Abdul Hannan, Director General (Additional Charge) of DSHE, said that at the request of the Ministry of Education, the proposal summary was sent on January 20. 

The Secondary and Higher Education Division will review the proposal and forward it to the Ministry of Public Administration, he said adding after further scrutiny, the Ministry of Public Administration will send it to the Expenditure Management Wing of the Finance Division for final and policy approval of the post creation. 

Thereafter, the Ministry of Public Administration will issue the order for creating the supernumerary posts.

The Director General said, "For the first time in the history of the Education Cadre, the creation of supernumerary or additional posts will not impose any significant extra financial burden on the government, as most of the officers have already reached the final stage of their respective pay scales."

In a letter sent on January 20 to the Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division, DSHE proposed batch-wise creation of posts for promotion of two tiers of officers-those already promoted and those eligible for promotion.

A senior official of the Secondary and Higher Education Division told BSS that the main objective of the government's initiative is to eliminate all forms of discrimination and build a modern and professional education cadre.

He said, "The revised proposal from DSHE has been received. The Ministry of Education will now examine it and send it to the Ministry of Public Administration. After final approval from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Public Administration will issue the necessary order."

According to the proposal sent by DSHE, the creation of 6,921 supernumerary posts has been proposed across three levels: 2,298 posts at the Professor level, 2,752 posts at the Associate Professor level, and 1,871 posts at the Assistant Professor level.

The batch-wise promotion framework outlined in the proposal states that supernumerary posts will be created for Professors for officers of the 21st to 24th BCS batches; Associate Professors for officers of the 24th to 30th BCS batches; and Assistant Professors for officers of the 32nd to 35th BCS batches in the Education Cadre.

Why supernumerary posts?

A 'supernumerary' or 'additional' post is a special arrangement under which eligible officers are promoted based on seniority even when no regular vacancy exists, and are posted at the same workplace or elsewhere. Once the concerned officer retires or the post otherwise becomes vacant, the post is automatically abolished.

Rationale for post creation:

In its proposal, DSHE stated that currently around 7,994 officers in the Education Cadre are eligible for promotion. Of them, 2,926 officers are at the Assistant Professor level, 3,553 officers at the Associate Professor level, and 2,298 officers are awaiting promotion to the Professor level.

Due to the lack of necessary vacant posts, this large number of officers has been deprived of promotion. Particularly, the opportunity for promotion from Lecturer to Assistant Professor is extremely limited, causing long-standing mental and social frustration among officers. As a result, work motivation among Education Cadre officers is declining, severely affecting educational activities.

DSHE also noted that due to the long-term absence of adequate higher-level posts, a large number of Education Cadre officers are retiring from the Associate Professor level. Moreover, while officers of other civil service cadres receive timely promotions, deprivation in the Education Cadre is especially pronounced.

The proposal further states that the total number of sanctioned posts in the Education Cadre currently stands at 19,868. Of these, 9,782 are at the Lecturer level, while 4,451 posts exist at the Assistant Professor level-meaning only 4,451 lecturers have the opportunity to be promoted to Assistant Professor. 

The remaining officers have no opportunity for first-stage promotion. DSHE added that the number of posts for subsequent promotions stands at 2,268 for Associate Professors and only 528 for Professors.

Several senior professors of the Education Cadre told BSS that for the first time in the cadre's history, an initiative has been taken to create supernumerary posts. If the government creates these additional posts against regular ones, the path for officers to reach higher positions will be eased, bringing momentum to the country's education management.

They also said that once the posts are created, the concerned officers will be able to enjoy the status and financial benefits of the promoted posts alongside their regular duties.

Professor Dr. Khan Moinuddin Al Mahmud Sohel, Convener of the BCS General Education Association, told BSS that for a long time, the required number of higher-level posts has not been created in the Education Cadre. 

Currently, the number of posts from Assistant Professor to Professor is very limited, forcing a large number of officers to retire from the Associate Professor level, he said. To resolve this crisis and ensure the quality of higher education, the creation of supernumerary posts has become essential, he added.

He said, "I commend the current government for initiating the creation of nearly 7,000 supernumerary posts in the Education Cadre for the first time. The proposal is now at its final stage. Once these posts are created, the long-standing promotion deadlock in the Education Cadre will be reduced, and at the same time, the 'chain of command' or organizational discipline will be restored."