HC upholds cancellation of 169 Viqarunnisa admissions over age limit

The High Court today (21 May) upheld the cancellation of 169 students' admission to Class I of Viqarunnisa Noon School & College in the 2024 academic year for breaching the age limit policy.

An HC bench of Justice JBM Hasan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil delivered the verdict while disposing of a writ petition in this regard. The bench also directed the school to admit students from the waiting list to Class I.

In the verdict, the court said parents of the 169 students in question cannot avoid responsibility for the situation created regarding the admission.

The court has also ordered an investigation into allegations of corruption and irregularities in the admission of these students. A committee has been formed under the leadership of an additional secretary of the Ministry of Education to conduct the investigation.

The court has asked to include a representative of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka and an IT expert from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in the committee.

On 14 January, two mothers filed a writ petition, claiming Viqarunnisa Noon School & College was not following age rules for first-grade admissions. After issuing an order on 23 January following a hearing, the HC received a memorandum from the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) on 28 February.

The DSHE found that the school admitted students born before 1 January 2017, violating the age limit for the 2024 academic year. This included 10 students born in 2015 and 159 born in 2016. The DSHE requested the school cancel these 169 admissions and inform them immediately.

The school cancelled the admissions. The affected students' guardians appealed to the Appellate Division. On 20 March, the Appellate Division ordered to resolve the issue within two months and issued a status quo on the admissions.