Bangladesh Installs CCTVs In Government Offices To Catch Corrupt Officials
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Public officials from Bangladesh’s education ministry will soon have their activities tracked while at work, reported Reuters on Tuesday, after Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid installed close-circuit television cameras in all key offices to catch any form of bribery in his ministry.
Public officials from Bangladesh’s education ministry will soon have their activities tracked while at work, reported Reuters on Tuesday, after Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid installed close-circuit television cameras in all key offices to catch any form of bribery in his ministry.
“A bad image has developed as people face harassment by some officials and employees (seeking bribes) to get work done,” told Nahid to reporters in Dhaka last week.
[quote]“The officers have to change their mindset and work as servants of the taxpayers,” he added.[/quote]According to Reuters, Bangladesh’s education system has faced intense scrutiny over the past few years, with teachers often paying bribes to snag key posts, while students pay off education officials to acquire better grades.
“Corruption is widespread in the education sector,” said an education ministry official who requested anonymity.
“The quality of education is falling though the percentage of students passing (exams) has increased,” he noted.
Public anger towards the education ministry has since boiled over as a result, with at least four students killed in violent campus political rallies against the education ministry since January this year.
Although Nahid acknowledged that the cameras were unlikely to end corruption and bribery in his ministry, he remained optimistic that the additional CCTV monitoring would act as a constant reminder to officials about their moral and civic duty.
[quote]”A machine cannot stop corruption if the man behind (it) is dishonest,” Nahid said.[/quote]According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, Bangladesh has one of the poorest anti-corruption legislation in the world – scoring just 2.7 upon 10.
Related: World Corruption Special Report
Related: World Bank Publishes List Of Corrupt Companies & Individuals
Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer also reported that at least 70 percent of their respondents in Bangladesh have paid a bribe in 2010, with 43 percent of the population believing that the government’s efforts to fight corruption have been ineffective.
Additionally, the Global Corruption Barometer also indicated that the Education Ministry was the 6th most corrupt institution in the country, with the police force being at the top.
