Staff Correspondent: After the political upheaval in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, although there was a wind of reform in various sectors of the country, in some institutions it has taken the form of a tool to fulfill individual and group interests. A sensational picture of abuse of power, corruption and oppression of ordinary teachers by a teachers’ syndicate, under the influence of the ‘coordinators’ of the student movement and the changed situation, has emerged in the renowned educational institution ‘CDA Public School and College’, owned by the Chittagong Development Authority (CWA) and approved by the Education Board. The investigation revealed that after August 5, capitalizing on the unstable environmental situation in the country, two teacher representatives of the governing body—Mr. Masud Rana and Mr. Md. Nasir Uddin—took control of the entire institution into their own hands. It is alleged that they forcibly and unfairly forced the then acting principal, Mrs. Sohana Rahman, to resign by demonstrating the influence of the ‘coordinators’. The main purpose of removing an administrative head by force without any institutional rules or formal decision of the governing body was to take over the financial and administrative sectors of the school. New ‘bribe trade’ syndicate of teacher representatives: After the forcible dismissal of the acting principal Mrs. Sohana Rahman, Mr. Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal was appointed to the post. Reliable sources claim that this appointment process was completed taking advantage of the then unstable situation so that the joint syndicate of teacher representatives Masud Rana and Nasir Uddin could implement their immoral agenda from the backstage. For the past one and a half years, this clique has been accused of exclusively ‘bribe trade’ in the educational institution. Meanwhile, illegal admission business, disregarding the rules, has illegally admitted a large number of students for a huge sum of money. Misappropriation of funds: This gang has been accused of embezzling lakhs of taka by artificially showing excessive expenses (over-invoicing) in the school’s coaching fees, sale of exam books and purchase of students’ diaries, ID cards, computer equipment and all stationery. 17 teachers victimized by revenge, scheme to use ACC to cover up recruitment fraud: According to the information received, the roots of the current crisis are basically an incident in 2021. While making 17 qualified teachers and employees appointed in this school permanent in 2021, Kalin, under the supervision of the former principal of the said CDA Public School and College, Nurul Alam, teacher representatives Ershad Hossain, Shirin Sultana and the current group Masud Rana, Nasir Uddin and Shamima Sultana (Shirin Sultana’s own sister) demanded a large amount of bribe. But the said 17 teachers and employees were able to make their jobs permanent as per the rules without paying the bribe. This syndicate, which was angry after not receiving the bribe, started various conspiracies against the said 17 people from then on. When the domestic context changed after August 5, 2024, the syndicate misled the coordinators of the anti-discrimination movement and lobbied through them and filed a false and baseless complaint against the said 17 teachers with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The victims allege that innocent teachers are currently being harassed by the ACC based on these false allegations. Among the 17 victims are:Sayera Bibi (Assistant Teacher), Farhana Akhter (Assistant Teacher), Dinar Binte Taleb (Junior Teacher), Jasmine Akhter (Junior Teacher), Shahana Mushtari (Junior Teacher), Fahmida Kader Shobha (Junior Teacher), Khaleda Begum (Junior Teacher), Maria Narjis (Junior Teacher), Sharmin Jahan, Hasina Akhter, Touhida Momtaz (Junior Teacher), Dola Roy (Junior Teacher), Annie Nag, Pinky Rani De (Assistant Teacher), Swapna Sen, Fahmida Sultana and Ismat Ara Begum. Investigation report prepared by keeping the Chowk (CDA) Chairman in the dark: The current principal Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal has set another example of extreme abuse of power in the name of investigation. Without any prior approval or instructions from the president of the governing body, the chairman of the Chittagong Development Authority (CWA), he formed a one-sided investigation committee with people of his own choice on the pretext of a letter from the ACC. The members of the committee are Mohammad Bayojid, Debashish Ranjan Sushil, Shamima Sultana (who is herself one of the accused in the bribery syndicate) and Mahmuda Parveen. According to legal experts, it is completely illegal to keep the CWA chairman in the dark in an institution owned by CWA, prepare a fabricated and one-sided investigation report with people from his own syndicate and send it directly to the ACC. If the official statement of the CWA authority is accepted and the real truth is revealed, everything will become clear. Usually, if there is an irregularity in any appointment, according to the rules, it is necessary to form a committee with higher-ranking officials than the members of the appointment committee to investigate the irregularities. But in this case, it was not accepted, and in addition, they tried to hide the real truth by forming a committee using corrupt teachers.
Teacher representative Masud Rana’s own account of recruitment fraud:
The investigation has revealed a shocking fraud involving teacher representative Masud Rana’s own appointment. Based on the notification published in the Daily Azadi on April 10, 2012, a candidate named ‘Tahmina Akhter’ secured 2nd place in the merit list for the appointment test for the post of Lecturer (Accounting). When the 1st place holder expressed his unwillingness to join, according to the rules, Tahmina Akhter, who was in 2nd place, was supposed to get the appointment. But Masud Rana, who was in 3rd place, conspired with the then principal and completely concealed the official appointment letter issued in Tahmina Akhter’s name. On the contrary, a fake and forged ‘letter of reluctance to join’ was prepared and submitted by Tahmina Akhter. Through this fraud, Masud Rana has been illegally occupying the post for the past 15 years. On 14/05/2025, the victim Tahmina Akhter filed a written complaint with the Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (DSE) after learning about the matter. The DSE Directorate took cognizance of the matter and on 29/06/2025 (Memorandum No. 37.02.0000.105.31.033.25/3847/6) ordered the Director and Assistant Director of the DSE Chittagong Region to submit an investigation report within 15 working days, but due to invisible gestures or political influence of the coordinators, the investigation has not seen the light of day. The victim Tahmina Akhter, who was deprived of employment, said, I did not know that I had secured 2nd place in the recruitment examination. I came to know about the matter in 2023. After knowing, I filed a complaint with the CDA and the DSE Director. Based on the complaint, the investigation into the matter is now underway. I hope to get justice from the concerned authorities. Regarding the complaint, Masud Rana said, “The then principal Nurul Alam called me and gave me the appointment letter. I am not aware of the fraud. Although I called Nasir Uddin several times to inquire about the complaint, he did not receive the call.” When asked about this, Professor Fazlul Quader, Director of the Department of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (DSEHE), Chittagong, said that an investigation into several complaints against CDA School and College is ongoing. Nothing can be said at this time without seeing the file regarding the mentioned complaint. I will update you in detail after seeing the file. Experts’ opinion: Education-related experts believe that forcing an acting principal to resign, dismissing another with a fake signature, and harassing legitimate teachers through the ACC are extreme violations of international human rights and labor laws. The DSEHEHE, Ministry of Education and Chowk authorities need to intervene immediately to restore a fair educational environment at CDA Public School and College and stop the ongoing mental harassment of 17 innocent teachers. At the same time, the conscious guardian community has demanded that the investigation into the 2012 fraud of teacher representative Masud Rana be completed quickly and the culprits brought to justice. When asked about this, Engineer Belayet Hossain, the newly appointed chairman of the Chittagong Development Authority (CWA) and the president of the board of directors of CDA Public School and College, told the reporter, “After taking charge of the CDA, my first word was that no kind of corruption will be tolerated in the CDA and any institution related to CDA, so if we receive a written complaint of any irregularity, necessary legal action will be taken.”