Staff Reporter
Law Minister Anisul Huq yesterday left a programme at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) as he saw the programme was sponsored by Saifur’s coaching centre.The law minister was invited at an award giving ceremony as the chief guest and supposed to deliver speech for the children of DRU members, who were getting reception and awards for their excellent result in PEC and JSC exams.
Dhaka University Vice Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique who was also invited to the programme as a special guest, left the venue along with the law minister.
“This institution (Saifur’s) is disputed. It is not possible to attend the programme,” the minister said while leaving the programme.
He left the venue saying the same when DRU president Jamal Uddin and general secretary Raju Ahmed requested him to stay there.
When contacted, the law minister said he was not informed that a coaching centre sponsored the programme.
Being the law minister, I cannot participate this programme when while the government has imposed ban on running the coaching centres,” he observed.
As the law minister and DU VC left the venue, the DRU continued the programme with its president Jamal Uddin in the chair.
Former DRU president Shahed Chowdhury, former general secretary Elias Khan, former DUJ general secretary Quddus Afrad, and chairman of Saifur’s Private Limited Saifur Rahman and manging director Shamsa Ara Khan, among others, spoke on the occasion.
The DRU leaders termed the incident “regretful.”
Earlier, in March, the coaching centre placed an advertisement in a national daily following media reports on how a spelling error had thwarted hackers’ efforts to steal $101 million from Bangladesh Bank funds. It also read due to spelling mistakes in admission tests students also fail to get admitted in universities. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid warned the coaching centre of legal actions against it for such advertisement. Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched inquiry against alleged irregularity and corruption of English language teaching centre.
