Viqarunnisa teacher off duty amid protests

Authorities suspended on Tuesday the teacher of the city's Viqarunnisa Noon School and College (VNSC), who was blamed for the suicide of a ninth-grader of the school the previous day, amid protests by students and their guardians.

The head teacher of the school's morning shift, Zinnat Ara, was suspended for the sake of proper investigation into the incident, said Principal Nazneen Ferdous.

Ninth-grader Aritri Adhikari committed suicide on Monday after she and her parents had allegedly been humiliated by the teacher of the school over her wrongdoing in an examination the previous day.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid visited the school on Tuesday morning and vowed to take necessary action in this connection.

Aggrieved students of the school and their guardians staged a demonstration on Tuesday, demanding punishment to those responsible for the suicide of the girl.

They also demanded removal of the errant teachers from their duties.

They gave a 24-hour ultimatum to meet their demand.

Two separate committees were formed by the school governing body and the Ministry of Education (MoE) to investigate the tragic incident.

Apart from suspension, the school authorities also served a show-cause notice on Jinnat Ara.

Viqarunnisa girl students along with their guardians started crowding the school premises in the city's Baily Road area to register their protests against the incident.

They demanded immediate dismissal of the VNSC Principal and in-charge of the main branch, where the incident took place.

The aggrieved girls accompanied by their parents were enchanting slogans like 'We want justice' and waved placards in front of their school's main gate and on its premises.

One of the ninth-graders alleged that some teachers forced their friend Aritri to commit suicide, as she was excessively humiliated along with her parents by them.

"Aritri was unfairly treated for the wrongdoing in examination," the remorseful girl said.

"We admit Aritri adopted an unfair means. But it doesn't mean she has to give away her life," she added.

The mother of another student, Dilara Chowdhury, told the FE that the school was not properly ensuring basic facilities like sanitation and first aid for the students.

"The death of the young girl is merely a proof of the school authority's irresponsible attitude towards thousands of students, let alone psychological support for them," she said.

The Viqarunnisa authority even did not postpone Tuesday's examination, she said.

"They even don't care about girls and their guardians' emotions," she added.

Many of the ninth-graders could not take part in their English second paper examination on the day, she said.

When contacted, Acting Principal of the educational institution Nazneen Ferdous said the governing body did not postpone Tuesday's exam considering the interest of thousands of other students in four branches including the main one.

"We have decided to retake Tuesday's exam for the girls who wish to appear in the exam on a later date," she said.

Offering her apology for the incident, the principal said, "We are so sorry for the unexpected death of our student."

She, however, said the governing body would take necessary actions against the school staff involved in the incident on receipt of the committee's investigation report.

The three-member VNSC committee will submit the report within three working days.

The committee includes two governing body members Md Ataur Rahman and Tinna Khurshid Jahan and teacher Ferdousi Begum.

Besides, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has also formed another committee in this regard.

Professor Md Yousuf, a director of the Directorate for Secondary Education, Dhaka, is heading the committee.Two other members of the committee are Dhaka district education officers Benazir Ahmed and Shakhayet Husain.

Established in 1952, the VNSC teaches around 25,000 students through its three other branches in the capital city.

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