Headmaster detained for alleged fraud after 13 students miss SSC exam in Cox's Bazar
The students, all from Haldia Palong Adarsha Bidyapith, were reportedly victims of fraud by the school’s headmaster, who allegedly took money from them with false promises of exam registration
Thirteen Secondary School Certificate (SSC) candidates from Cox's Bazar's Ukhiya upazila were unable to sit for their first exam today (10 April) after failing to receive their admit cards.
The students, all from Haldia Palong Adarsha Bidyapith, were reportedly victims of fraud by the school's headmaster, who allegedly took money from them with false promises of exam registration.
"The incident sparked outrage among parents and locals, leading to protests and vandalism outside the school premises. Police later detained the headmaster, Mohammad Yunus, for questioning," Mohammad Golam Mostafa, acting district secondary education officer, told The Business Standard.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
According to students and guardians, the headmaster took nearly Tk10,000 from each student in three phases, promising SSC exam registration. On the day before the exam, he also collected an additional Tk700 per student, claiming it was for admit cards.
On exam day, the students found the school locked and broke down in tears upon realising they were not registered and could not appear for the test.
Education officer Golam revealed that the school is not officially recognised as an academic institution.
"The students were supposed to take their SSC exams through a different institution. However, they had failed the school's test exams and were never officially registered for the SSC," he said.
He added, "The students were deceived by the headmaster and brokers. If the issue had been reported earlier, a solution could have been found."
Meanwhile, enraged locals blocked the Morichya-Patabari road in the upazila for about an hour.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mohammad Quamrul Hasan Chowdhury said, "Ukhiya Police arrived at the scene to calm the protest and took the headmaster into custody. Guardians and locals demanded that not only the headmaster but also the school director and all others involved be brought under legal action."
"Since the students were not registered, the board has not yet decided whether they can appear in subsequent exams. We are trying our best to resolve this. A probe committee has been formed to investigate the incident," he added.
