A schoolteacher in Pirojpur’s Mathbaria has been temporarily suspended for allegedly liking a Facebook video containing derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Md Mamun-or-Rashid Talukdar, an assistant mathematics teacher at Mithakhali PGS Adarsha Secondary School, was suspended through an office order signed by school managing committee Chairman Md Nurul Amin Kamal on September 21.
Nurul is the brother of local BNP lawmaker Ruhul Amin Dulal.
The school authorities had earlier issued him two show-cause notices.
According to The Dissent, Mamun is still attending school regularly but has been barred from taking classes and instructed by the headteacher to record his attendance in a separate register.
On July 28, the National Citizen Party (NCP) called a protest march in Dhaka against an alleged attack by Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal activists on an NCP procession in Habiganj.
At the protest, NCP leader Touhidul Islam Tuhin led slogans including “Tarique Rahman, father of the terrorists” and “There will be no place for terrorists in this Bengal”.
A 28-second clip from the protest was uploaded on August 1 by a Facebook page called Bhola Vision.
Mamun told The Dissent that he accidentally liked the video while scrolling through Facebook at around 9:30pm on August 9.
He said he removed the like after someone alerted him through Messenger.
He said a screenshot of the like was taken and circulated before he could remove it, after which online portal Mathbaria Pratidin published a report on August 12 headlined “Like on ‘Terrorists’ father’s name Tarique Rahman’ video sparks criticism on social media”.
Mamun also claimed that agencies including the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and the National Security Intelligence (NSI) later investigated the matter and concluded that the like could have been accidental.
“I am not involved with any political party. However, I supported the July Mass Uprising. Beyond that, I have no involvement whatsoever with any political party,” he said.
The school authorities issued Mamun the first show-cause notice on August 22, asking him to respond within 24 hours. He submitted his reply the following day.
On September 5, acting headteacher Nikhil Chandra Mitra and managing committee chairman Nurul Amin Kamal signed a second notice, saying the school authorities were not satisfied with his earlier response.
Mamun was given seven working days to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him. He submitted his written response on September 7.
The school suspended him on September 21.
The suspension order said the allegation concerned “liking” a video containing objectionable remarks about the prime minister that undermined the image of the prime minister/state.
It said the school’s ad hoc managing committee had discussed the matter at its September 16 meeting after reviewing his response, the allegation and other documents, as well as instructions from the Pirojpur deputy commissioner.
The order said Mamun would remain suspended until further investigation and disposal of the allegation in accordance with applicable rules. His salary, allowances and other benefits during the suspension period would be dealt with under the relevant regulations.
Acting headteacher Nikhil Chandra Mitra told The Dissent: “I am a very humane person. But sometimes I cannot show it. Our school chairman is very strong and he controls the institution with a firm hand.”
Nurul told The Dissent that he had no personal enmity with Mamun.
“I suspended and issued the show-cause notices to him mainly because of this act. He says it was a mistake and wants to apologise. But he did not commit an offence against me; he did it against the prime minister. So if he wants to apologise, he has to apologise to the prime minister, and he should know how to do that,” he said.
Regarding the two show-cause notices, he said Mamun’s second response was not satisfactory because he had described the incident as an “unintentional mistake” and “not a crime”.
Nurul also claimed that Pirojpur Deputy Commissioner Abu Saeed instructed him to suspend the teacher.
“The DC and the Barisal Board instructed me to take the suspension decision,” he said.
He further alleged that some local people had threatened the headteacher while supporting Mamun.
Asked about the allegation that the deputy commissioner had instructed the suspension, Saeed told that he was not fully aware of the matter and referred the newspaper to the local upazila nirbahi officer. When asked about the school committee’s claim that the suspension had been made on his instructions, he said, “That is not my authority.”
Mathbaria Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Ataur Rabbi told that the decision had been taken by the school committee.
Asked whether the committee or its chairman had the authority to suspend a teacher, he said, “They should have that authority. If they did not, a complaint should have been brought to me. But the teacher has not come to me or filed any complaint.”
Human rights activist Nur Khan Liton described the suspension over the like as an “arbitrary” decision.
Speaking to The Dissent, he said authorities should carefully consider whether disciplinary action was justified after Mamun had explained that the like was accidental and apologised.
Liton also referred to a recent instance in which the prime minister had ordered the release of a person detained over comments or opinions concerning him, saying it had sent a message that individual freedom should not be interfered with over such matters.
He said the incident involving the teacher appeared to show that members of the prime minister’s political camp had failed to understand the message or example set by their leader.
“Leaders give a particular direction or seek to set a particular example, but their party colleagues fail to understand it,” he said. “The leader’s language, instructions and message are not being understood at the level of the workers.”
Liton said that even if the teacher had not admitted the like was a mistake, the prime minister’s recent position on similar matters should have been taken into consideration before any action was taken.