When Teachers Trade Integrity for Power: A Tragic Decline in Educational Ethics

Those who have become heads of institutions by bribery—if you still call them teachers, then you're living in a fool's paradise.

A teacher is not just a professional title; it represents a moral and ideological stance. Those who have climbed into leadership positions in educational institutions through bribery or political lobbying have, in reality, desecrated the sanctity of education. To call them teachers is to insult the very dignity of the teaching profession. How can someone who has secured a position through corruption preach honesty and justice to students? Such individuals directly oppose the foundational principles of education. A true teacher never compromises. They know that leadership means responsibility, and the first condition of that responsibility is integrity.

In the fascist regime of Hasina, is there a single institution head who has sat in that chair without bribery or political lobbying? It is doubtful that such an example exists.

Especially in the current era of Sheikh Hasina’s fascist rule, appointments to head positions in most educational institutions in Bangladesh are no longer based on merit. Instead, bribery, lobbying, and party allegiance have become the determining factors. The intrusion of political and financial corruption into such a sacred sector as education is a dire warning for the future of our society. The honor and respect that the teaching profession once held in the eyes of the public have been shattered by these sycophantic and opportunistic individuals. When leadership in educational institutions falls into the hands of the corrupt, how can we expect to nurture a morally upright generation?

Teachers are those who shoulder the noble responsibility of shaping students into national assets through tireless dedication, working day and night. They impart moral education to their students. They teach them to refrain from immoral acts. If protesting injustice is not possible, they at least teach them to hate injustice.

True teachers are those who selflessly devote themselves to the task of preparing the future generation. Their concern is not limited to covering textbooks but rather focuses on building students into honest, idealistic, and self-respecting citizens. They teach life lessons in the classroom—lessons about right and wrong, about standing for truth, about despising falsehood. A true teacher nurtures enlightenment, conscience, and a sense of responsibility within students, enabling them to stand against the immorality and corruption of society.

The day teachers started hopping like frogs, their honor was already lost. If they had any dignity, they would have refused to jump and resigned right then and there.

When teachers began blindly following policies and curriculums without question—bending over backward to serve the ruling agenda—their self-respect hit rock bottom. A respectable teacher never compromises with what is morally wrong. When faced with such a situation, the proper course is to resign rather than be complicit. Honor, dignity, and ethics—without these three pillars, the identity of a teacher is incomplete.

Even after hopping like frogs at the beginning of 2024, under the excuse of curriculum reform, if their honor remained intact—then if, at the end of the year, an overly enthusiastic person gives a slap of reality to expose the false consciousness of these sycophantic pseudo-intellectuals, their offense won’t be as grave as the crime committed by the teachers' sycophancy.

At the beginning of 2024, some teachers blindly endorsed so-called curriculum reforms under the guise of modernization. In doing so, they not only undermined the quality of education but also damaged their own moral standing. Their actions revealed their eagerness to please the regime rather than uphold truth and justice. If, at the end of the year, someone takes it upon themselves to awaken these sycophants with a figurative slap of reality, it would not be a crime nearly as severe as the betrayal committed by those who sold their conscience to flattery. Those who masquerade as educators while misleading society must be held accountable—and holding them to reality is not a crime, but a civic duty.

The teacher who failed to teach students to hate injustice has today become the object of their hatred. Students are expressing their hatred by forcing these sycophantic teachers to resign.

A teacher who could not teach his students to despise injustice has himself become the face of that injustice. Such teachers have not only lost their own dignity but have destroyed the students’ faith in education itself. Today, students are raising their voices, resisting, and even forcing some teachers to resign. This is not mere emotional outrage—it is a principled stand to preserve their self-respect and moral clarity.

In our country, the honor and dignity of teachers will be restored on the day they abandon sycophancy and try to stand tall with a straight spine. When they consider teaching to be the only place of true honor and develop the mental strength to reject all other temptations and desires.

The only way to restore the lost respect of teachers in our country is through introspection and reform. Until and unless teachers renounce political flattery and opportunism, and return to the noble ideals of education, public respect for them will not be restored. In society, a teacher should symbolize justice, truth, and integrity. If they can overcome fear and temptation and stand firm on moral grounds, then once again, the dignity of education will be reestablished.

Final words

Education is not merely the transmission of information—it is a sacred responsibility. If teachers fulfill that responsibility with integrity, society will once again be rooted in justice, honesty, and humanity. But when corruption, sycophancy, and opportunism become the new normal, the very foundation of the education system is corroded. The time has come for teachers to reflect, reform, and rise again—with courage, character, and an unwavering commitment to truth.