Investigation Exposes 141 Fake Teachers at Two Schools

A recent investigation by the Directorate of Inspection and Audit (DIA) of the Ministry of Education has uncovered severe recruitment fraud and financial corruption across Bangladeshi educational institutions. According to the official report, a total of 141 teaching appointments at Siddheswari Higher Girls’ School in Dhaka and Bonpara Adarsha School and College in Haluaghat, Mymensingh, have been declared completely illegal.

The fraudulent practices identified include forged Bachelor of Arts (Honours) certificates, fictitious recruitment boards, fabricated experience certificates, and counterfeit Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) credentials. The DIA has formally submitted its findings to the Ministry of Education for administrative and legal action.

Overview of Recruitment Fraud and Financial Discrepancies

The scale of irregularities and the volume of misappropriated public funds at both institutions are outlined in the table below:

Extensive Financial Malpractice at Siddheswari Higher Girls’ School

Located on Bailey Road in the capital, Siddheswari Higher Girls’ School has been implicated in institutional embezzlement totalling nearly 150 million BDT. The DIA investigation revealed that the former Headmaster, Md. Sahab Uddin Molla, and the current acting Headmaster, Md. Delwar Hossain, drew festival allowances at double the authorized rate between 2014 and 2022.

Furthermore, Sahab Uddin Molla unlawfully drew 9.7 million BDT from private salary allocations, while Delwar Hossain took approximately 8 million BDT, both of which must be refunded. Because Delwar Hossain’s original appointment violated statutory rules, an additional 3.8 million BDT drawn by him is refundable to the state exchequer. The DIA has also directed the recovery of 23.2 million BDT paid illegally to MPO-enrolled teachers from the school’s internal fund.

The audit also exposed serious violations regarding the school’s reserve funds. Instead of securing Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDR) with scheduled commercial banks as mandated by law, the management deposited public funds into private non-banking financial institutions. The unauthorised deposits include:

• First Finance Leasing Company: 57,225,356 BDT

• Peoples Leasing Company: 21,212,049 BDT

• GSP Finance Company: 400,000 BDT

Further procurement and structural irregularities were uncovered:

• Out of five laptops purchased using institutional funds, only two were physically located during the inspection.

• Financial records for the monthly rent collected from the school canteen were withheld from inspectors.

• Gross irregularities were found in the procurement of the school lift, generator, general repairs, and the construction of the guardian shed.

• During a 500,000 BDT contribution to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund from the school repository, 150,000 BDT was embezzled.

• Sheikh Emranul Alam, the son of the school’s former governing body president, drew a monthly administrative officer salary of 42,000 BDT between March and October 2023, totaling 336,000 BDT, without valid grounds.

• Receipts and expenditure statements regarding coaching fees collected from various classes were completely absent.

When contacted by telephone to clarify these findings, the acting Headmaster, Md. Delwar Hossain, did not respond.

Nepotism and Fraud at Bonpara Adarsha School and College

The irregularities at Bonpara Adarsha School and College in Haluaghat, Mymensingh, represent an unprecedented level of institutional nepotism. The DIA determined that all 61 appointments in the college branch and 12 appointments in the school branch are entirely illegal. The Principal of the institution, Imdadul Haque, operates on entirely forged academic credentials himself. He allegedly took bribes for appointments and regularly deducted a portion of the salaries distributed to the staff.

Principal Imdadul Haque appointed 11 members of his immediate and extended family using forged certificates, including his personal driver. The list of illegal beneficiaries includes:

• Wife: Ismetara (Office Assistant)

• Son: Imrul Hasan Kayes (Lab Assistant)

• Daughter-in-law: Susmita Akter Jerin (Lab Assistant)

• Daughter: Israt Jahan (Lab Assistant)

• Sister: Asma Khatun (Assistant Teacher, Agricultural Studies)

• Brother-in-law: Azizul Haq (Lecturer, Business Studies)

• Sister-in-law (Wife’s brother’s wife): Shefali Khatun (Lecturer)

• Cousins: Kamrul Islam (Lecturer, Banking) and Shahnaz Parvin (Lecturer)

• Personal Chauffeur

The DIA has recommended the immediate recovery of 55,765,600 BDT drawn by these unverified individuals from public funds. The regulatory body has requested the ministry initiate both departmental disciplinary procedures and formal criminal proceedings against Imdadul Haque. Attempts to contact him by telephone for a statement were unsuccessful.

National Context and Expert Perspectives

According to M. M. Shahidur Islam, the Director of the DIA, approximately 1,500 teachers with forged certificates have been identified across secondary schools, colleges, madrasas, and technical institutions nationwide. The Ministry of Education has issued show-cause notices to these individuals. These teachers have collectively drawn 3.75 billion BDT in salaries and benefits, and the DIA has formally advised the government to retrieve the entire sum.

Commenting on the crisis, Professor Mojibur Rahman of the Institute of Education and Research at the University of Dhaka stated that the identified cases represent only a small fraction of a larger, systemic problem. He emphasized that punitive measures should not be limited to the certificate holders but must extend to the syndicates responsible for issuing the forged documents and the committees that approved the appointments.

Professor Emeritus Dr Manzur Ahmad of BRAC University attributed the situation to institutional negligence and systemic corruption during the initial vetting process. He urged the government to investigate why certificates were not checked at the time of appointment and demanded strict legal accountability for everyone involved.