The inquiry body formed by the education ministry over the suicide of a ninth grader of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College has recommended disbanding of its governing body.
The body of 15-year-old Aritree Adhikari was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her room locked from inside on Monday (Dec 3).
The family claimed she committed suicide after the school’s teachers including its principal insulted her and the parents because she had cheated in an exam.
The incident sparked fury among students and parents of one of the top girls’ school in Bangladesh.
Amid demonstrations in front of the school on Tuesday (Dec 4), two separate inquiries by the school and the education ministry was opened.
On Wednesday (Dec 5), the probe panel of Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) filed its findings to the ministry.
The three-strong committee led by DSHE Dhaka Regional Director Md Yousuf said that it found the governing body to be negligent over the matter and that in an attempt to cover up it wasted time.
The inquiry found that the governing body tried to safeguard the teachers, who stand accused of insulting the student and her parents.
Following the filing of the investigation report, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid ordered the suspension of principal Nazneen Ferdous and two teachers — Zinat Akhtar, the in-charge of morning shift, and Aritree’s class teacher Hasna Hena.
The ministry has also decided to cancel the teachers' MPOs. It sent letters to the chairman of Dhaka Education Board and DSHE director general seeking departmental action and suspension of their wages respectively.
It also wrote to the police and Rapid Action Battalion to initiate legal steps against the teachers.
Speaking to Bangla Tribune on Wednesday, Dhaka Education Board Chairman M Ziaul Haque said, “If they do not comply with the government’s order and are not able to run the institution, then the governing body will be dissolved. We will meet its members over the matter.”
Governing Body Chairman Golam Ashraf Talukder says they have executed the orders given by the ministry and the board.
“If the Education Board still feels that the governing body has to be dissolved, then we will do it,” he told Bangla Tribune.
