Azimpur school principal suspended over ‘unclean room’

Education Minister Dipu Moni has temporarily suspended the principal of Azimpur Government Girls School and College for failing to keep classrooms clean during an inspection of the institution’s preparations for reopening.

MA Khair, spokesman for the education ministry, confirmed the minister’s decision on Sunday.

“We found one of the rooms unclean,” said Prof Syed Md Golam Faruk, the director general of secondary and higher education, who accompanied Dipu Moni during the inspection. “First we will ask the principal for an official explanation.”

Hasibur Rahman, the suspended principal of the school, said the minister was “disturbed after she saw the inside of a storage room during the inspection”.

“At the time, I didn’t get the chance to mention that it was just a storage room. I only have about 15 days left on the job. Only they can say what they will do now. The honourable DG said they will ask for my explanation first.”

All educational institutions have been ordered to carefully clean classrooms ahead of their reopening. One of the inspection officials said that other members of the monitoring committee responsible for the school would also be temporarily suspended due to the mistake.

“Not everyone is alert to cleanliness and hygiene,” said Dipu Moni. “Those who are inspecting educational institutions need to watch for this. We must inspect every nook and cranny to ensure schools are clean. We are doing the best we can.”

“A control room has been set up in each district to monitor the situation. We will release the contact numbers for these control rooms later on. Anyone can call these numbers and inform us of any problems at educational institutions and we will take steps to remedy them.”