Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon has announced the nationalisation of Tindu Lower Secondary School, located in a remote part of Thanchi upazila, Bandarban. The prime minister, Tarique Rahman, had earlier instructed that this be done. The education minister made the announcement during the budget discussion in the National Parliament on Sunday.
The prime minister’s additional press secretary, Atikur Rahman, said the prime minister had recently seen on social media that the school’s headteacher, Bamong Khiang Minglen, rows a boat to find the money to pay his colleagues’ salaries. In March and April alone he earned Tk 49,000 by rowing a boat, of which he gave Tk 30,000 towards colleagues’ salaries. In a remote hill area where keeping a school running is itself a major challenge, the headteacher is an inspiration to many. After the matter came to his attention, the prime minister that very night asked the education minister to take appropriate steps to nationalise the school.
At one point during his budget speech, the education minister said: “The honourable prime minister has sent an instruction that the school in the Tindu area of Thanchi be nationalised. He sent this slip to the great parliament today. I want to inform you that the school will be nationalised soon.”
Tindu Lower Secondary School was established in 2020. Although 56 students currently study there, most families are poor and cannot pay fees regularly, making it difficult to pay the salaries of teachers and staff. To cope with this crisis, headteacher Bamong Khiang Minglen himself rows an engine-driven boat on the Thanchi-Tindu-Remakri river route on holidays; much of the income from carrying tourists and passengers goes towards teachers’ salaries.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report