Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Iqbal Mahmood expressed his astonishment at finding a majority of teachers missing during surprise inspections at several schools in Chattogram, reports bdnews24.com.
The ACC chief went to three educational institutions in the port city on Sunday morning after receiving reports that teachers were absent, according to ACC Public Relations Officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya.
Iqbal Mahmood conducted the inspections based on reports from 'special sources', Bhattacharya said.
"The chairman went to the city's Kattali Nurul Hoque Chowdhury Primary School at 9:15am. He was astonished to see students and guardians outside the school during school hours."
"He entered the school and saw that of the eight teachers on duty, only the acting chief teacher was present, the other seven were absent."
The chairman saw students wasting time eating roadside snacks, Bhattacharya said. Guardians approached the ACC chief and expressed their frustrations regarding their children's education.
"No one will be allowed to trifle with our children's education," ACC Chairman Iqbal Mahmood told the guardians. "Education must be ensured at every classroom. If necessary, the ACC will invoke section 166 of the Penal Code. No-one who harms or attempts to harm future generations will be spared."
The ACC chief then went to the Bhatiary Government Primary School.
He found that only two of the 11 teachers on duty were present, Bhattacharya said.
"The school authority was unable to tell the ACC chairman why they were absent. The ACC chairman inspected the attendance register and saw that many of the children who were absent had been marked present. Roll calls were not conducted as of 10 am, either."
The ACC chairman then went to Shitalpur High School. He was satisfied to learn that none of the students who had failed in their regular tests were allowed to take the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations at the school.
But Mahmood was distressed to learn that students who had failed one or more exams in the ninth grade were allowed to advance to tenth grade after paying a fine of Tk 2,000, Bhattacharya said.
