HC wants report on closing school for underprivileged

The High Court today sought a report from the authorities concerned on why Dredger Junior High School, a 33-year old academic institution for underprivileged students at Killarpar in Narayanganj, has been closed.

Director general of Bangladesh Power Development Board and chief engineer of its Dredger Division in Narayanganj have been ordered to submit the report before the HC in two weeks.

The HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam passed the order following a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Kazi Akhtar Hosain seeking necessary order.

He submitted the petition to the HC following a report published in the Bangla daily Prothom Alo on Wednesday under a headline “33 years’ old school declared closed”.

Today, the HC also issued a rule asking the respondents to explain in four weeks why depriving the students of Dredger Junior High School from academic rights through closing it should not be declared illegal.

In the rule, the court asked them to show cause why they should not be directed to resume the academic activities of Dredger Junior High School.

Education secretary and water resources secretary, director general of Bangladesh Power Development Board and chief engineer and additional chief engineer of its Dredger Division in Narayanganj and five others concerned have been made respondents to the rule.

Citing from the petition, petition Kazi Akhtar Hosain told The Daily Star that the Dredger Division of Narayanganj has closed the Dredger Junior High School in December last year without arranging any alternative following a verbal announcement of Shamsudin Ahmed, additional chief engineer of the Dredger Division in Narayanganj.

Most of students who are very poor could not get admitted to any other academic institution and therefore, they are being deprived of education, he said.

Kazi Akhtar Hosain, Mohiuddin Md Hanif and AHM Rehanul Kabir Rony appeared for the petitioner, while Deputy Attorney General Motaher Hossain Sazu represented the government.