Manju Ara acting principal

The government on Thursday appointed Manju Ara Begum the acting principal of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College after a week-long protest by

students demanding removal of the principal Husne Ara Begum.

Students of the school and their guardians had rallied against Husne Ara for the week demanding her removal as principal as she was defending and was late in taking action against Parimal Jayadhar, a teacher of the institution's Bashundhara after he had been arrested on charge of raping a girl of the school.

The chairman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, Fahima Khatun and Dhaka's deputy commissioner Mohibul Haque, who heads the ad hoc managing committee set up on Wednesday to run the school, told New Age that the decision was made on Thursday evening. A release also issued from the board in this regard later. 

Manju is an assistant professor of history of the college. She will be acting as the principal in current charge.

Fahima and Mohibul both told New Age that Husne Ara Begum had applied for a three months' leave and the government approved the leave.

The government also named three other members on the ad hoc committee They are deputy secretary of the agriculture ministry Mosharraf Hossain, assistant professor of mathematics of the college Nasrin Akhter and the acting principal Manju Ara Begum. The ad hoc committee will run the institution for six months from the date it was set up.

Asked whether Manju Ara would be acting as principal till the appointment of a new principal, Fahima and Mohibul did not give any direct answer but said that Husne Ara would be on leave and Monju Ara would be holding the current charge during this time.

The acting principal told journalists that she had taken over the responsibility of the principal in an abnormal situation.

She sought help from all to make the situation in the school normal. She added that classes would be held regularly from Sunday.

Protests by students had, meanwhile, entered a new dimension on Thursday as several hundred students took position inside the campus but boycotted classes.

Students who had rallied demanding removal of Husne Ara as principal and punishment of Parimal welcomed the decision and said they would attend the class from Saturday.

'We did not want Husne Ara Begum to remain principal. Now we are happy. There will be no indiscipline from Saturday and students will attend classes,' said Samia Sarmin, member secretary of the Viqarunnisa Noon School Students' Forum, an organisation set up during students' movement.

The education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, on the day told journalists that Husne Ara was still the principal of the school in keeping with the law. He also said that a vested interest quarter was instigating chaos in the school. He said that the government had formed a committee to investigate the over all situation.

In the morning, a four-member student delegation also gave a memorandum to prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

The students said that they had handed over the memorandum to the director (administration) at the Prime Minister's Office.

In the memorandum, students urged the prime minister to intervene in the Viqarunnisa incidents. They demanded exemplary punishment of Parimal.

The government on Wednesday dissolved the managing committee of the school after some committee members, in the absence of the committee chair, Rashed Khan Menon, had removed Husne Ara Begum as the principal and appointed senior teacher Ambia Khatun to the position.

The government also formed an ad hoc committee, headed by Dhaka's deputy commissioner, to run the functions of the managing committee.

The decision was in the wake of weeklong protests by students and their guardians that demanded punishment of Parimal and removal of Husne Ara as the principal for defending the accused.

Parimal abused a girl of the school and videoed it with his mobile. He admitted to doing so in his statement given in court on Monday.

There were allegations against Husne Ara Begum that she was defending Parimal even after the girl had lodged a complaint in writing.

From the morning, several hundred students of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College brought out rally inside the school campus fearing that Husne Ara Begum would come back to the college as the principal.

There were rumours that Husne Ara would take the position of principal again. Students boycotted classes and stayed in the playground and on the campus of the school.

They shouted slogans — 'We only want Husne Ara removed.' The students held banners many of which read: 'We want Husne Ara to be expelled,' 'We want exemplary punishment of Parimal,' and 'We want solution from the government.'

Source : New Age