Education authorities drop probe into Sylhet teacher's viral video
State minister for Education Bobby Hajjaj sees no wrongdoing
Highlights:
- Authorities withdraw planned probe into viral video
- Preliminary inquiry finds no evidence of wrongdoing
- Teacher's Facebook reel had sparked online criticism
- Officials say investigation no longer necessary
Education authorities in Sylhet today (27 July) withdrew their decision to investigate a primary school headteacher's viral Facebook video after media reports highlighted the planned probe and the state minister's remarks on the matter.
Sylhet District Primary Education Officer Sakhawat Ershad confirmed that no investigation committee would be formed, a day after State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj said he did not consider the video inappropriate.
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Media reports earlier today quoted Bobby as saying in Sylhet yesterday that he had not watched the video and did not use social media but had been told it contained nothing "obscene".
"I do not think singing a song is wrong. Whether others agree or not, I do not think it is wrong," he said.
Ershad said the authorities had initially decided to investigate the matter but later changed their position.
"We had decided to investigate the video. However, as you have seen, the state minister said on Sunday that he found nothing wrong," he said.
"We also conducted a preliminary inquiry and found no wrongdoing. So, there is no need to form an investigation committee unnecessarily," he added.
The controversy began after Beauty Rani Pal, headteacher of Pitaitikor Government Primary School in Fenchuganj upazila, posted a Facebook reel on Thursday featuring a song sung by Mezba of the band Different Touch.
The video showed her walking around the school premises wearing a saree. It drew criticism and trolling from some social media users, with several calling for action against her.
Beauty was named the district's best primary school teacher in 2026. She is also a former student of the English department at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.
Teachers from different parts of the country and people from other professions later expressed solidarity with her by posting their own videos using the same song.
A review of Beauty's Facebook profile shows that she regularly shares videos of classroom teaching, physical exercise, music-based learning activities, tree-planting and sapling distribution programmes involving her students.
What the teacher said
Beauty said one of her colleagues recorded the video after school hours.
Responding to the criticism, she said it was contradictory to speak of an improved curriculum while maintaining a "narrow mindset".
She said people needed to modernise their thinking to keep pace with the developed world.
Beauty thanked those who had supported her but said she could not comment further without permission from higher authorities.
She also said allegations against teachers should be reported to the appropriate authorities instead of subjecting them to public harassment on social media.
