Dhaka, Dec 7 – Students of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College continued their demonstration in front of the institution on Bailey road for the third consecutive day demanding the release of their class teacher.Hasna Hena, who was the morning shift class teacher of Aritree’s section, was arrested in a case filed over “provoking the suicide” of ninth-grader Aritry Adhikary on Wednesday. A Dhaka court denied Hena
bail and sent her to jail on the following day.
Under the banner of former and present students of the school, they chanted slogans like ‘Our teacher will be in school, why she is now in jail?’, ‘Hasna Hena madam is our mother, we want our mother freed’, ‘We want justice’ and ‘Hasna Hena madam is not guilty.’ The students of also announced to boycott their classes.
The demonstrating student said that Hasna Hena is a good teacher and she is innocent. She was the victim of a conspiracy.
Some of the student said that an investigation committee was formed to investigate the whole matter but without proper investigation, our teacher was arrested, it is illegal.
Meanwhile, the school level students will continue sitting for protest every day after taking their exams till their demands are met, the protesters announced.
The protesting students ended their programme around 01:30pm.
At a press briefing in front of the main gate of Viqarunnisa Sumaiya Mahmud Mitika, Lamia Iqbal and Adiba Hasan told the journalist that they are unhappy with the investigation of Education Ministry.
“We have seen the CCTV footage and our teacher (Hasna Hena) were not there. She had only taken Aritry’s parents to the Principal room; otherwise, she did not do anything. For that reason, she cannot be treated as a guilty,” They said.
We cannot support this unjustified matter. Her name was not included our six-point demand. We want her release, also said students.
Meanwhile, Viqarunnisa Noon School and College have appointed acting principal and morning shift in-charge for its main branch after sacking three teachers over the alleged suicide of a student following rebuke.
Assistant Professor Hasina Begum, an economics teacher of the institution, is the new acting principal while Mohsin Talukder is the new morning shift in-charge of its branch located on Bailey Road in Dhaka.
On December 3, Aritree committed suicide at her home in the capital’s Shantinagar area. Family members claimed that she took her life after being insulted by the school authorities in the presence of her parents for using a mobile phone during an exam.
The suicide reportedly exposed the school’s mishandling of students and teachers’ behaviour with their parents and guardians when anything goes wrong.
Aritree’s father Dilip Adhikary blamed three teachers—Hasna Hena, Zinat Ara, and Nazneen Ferdous of Viqarunnisa—for their role in the suicide.
On Wednesday, the education ministry also decided to cancel the teachers’ monthly pay orders (MPOs), announced education minister Nurul Islam Nahid while addressing a press briefing at his Secretariat
office. – Staff Reporter
