Fifteen teachers and employees of Tetulia Pilot High School did not get their due wages and bonuses for September as the district education officer did not sign the bill.
The non-payment brought untold miseries for the family members of those teachers ahead of Eid and Puja festivals.
Sources said, the school had been run by acting headmaster since 2012. Usually the monthly salary bill of the teachers and employees gets approved by the acting headmaster and district education officer.
However, as the current acting headmaster Rafiqul Islam filed a few cases against the school, the district education officer FA Abdul Jabbar sought court’s direction on whether Rafiqul could be appointed as an acting headmaster on September 30.
The court initially said Rafiqul was not eligible but after a review appeal from Rafiqul, it said he could be appointed as the acting headmaster.
It has been learnt that Md Shahjahan, the chief assistant of the district education officer, had been illegally making money by appointing the acting headmasters of the school.
He had been trying to oust Rafiqul and appoint someone else out of his own interest. There are also numerous allegations of fund embezzlement and corruption against the chief assistant.
However, Md Shahjahan refused all the allegations against him and said someone else was in charge of dealing with Tetulia Pilot High School. “After knowing the situation, I asked the acting headmaster to bring the bill but he could not do it in time and by that time sir has gone for Eid vacation,” he added.
FA Abdul Jabbar, the district education officer said, “I requested the acting headmaster to withdraw his cases against the school. He did not do so. But I still asked him to bring the billing papers so that I could sign. He failed to do so in time and I am already on Eid holidays.”
When contacted, acting headmaster Rafiqul Islam said, the officer denied to sign the bill saying that the school had no lawful acting headmaster and there had been complaints against Rafiqul.
