The government is thinking of discontinuing financial support to 290 schools, madrassahs and colleges for their extremely poor performance in public examinations, subject to a scooping investigation into their state of affairs. Their affiliations might also be cancelled. The audit directorate of the education ministry is to probe further into the matter so that any possibility of political reaction being organised locally can be ruled out.

The Prothom Alo has reported that no student came out successful in any public examinations in the last two years from those 290 institutions, though the government had to spend a staggering Tk 50 crore for their upkeep.

The signboard institutions are an example of gross irregularities and anomalies that have crept into a vital sector like education. The so-called teachers do not attend classes and a highly exaggerated number of examinees is shown for the public examinations, though in reality a handful of students appear. The institutions are poorly equipped and do not even have the arrangements for holding classes.

The education ministry has made it a rule that the minimum distance between two schools should be at least four kilometres and that between two colleges eight kilometres. But this rule is being violated with impunity. Obviously, influence-peddling caused the schools to be located in such a concentric manner.

The institutions are certainly a malignant growth, which has brought down the standard of education as a whole besides putting undue pressure on our scant resources.

It is imperative to know how these institutions got government affiliation in the first place so as to foster transparency by a demonstration effect across the whole system. Obviously, they managed to cheat both students and the government because they enjoyed the blessings of politically influential men who had vied with each other to have schools, madrassahs or colleges in places of their choice. They must have been happily oblivious of the truth that supporting such institutions amounted to undermining the entire system of education.

The SSC examination results have been an eye-opener to poor quality education. But what is a shocking indictment on the infrastructure is that the 290 institutions in question have no pass figure to show. They deserve to be only phased out.