Zahidur Rahman Zahid, president of the college section’s governing body of Natore Maharaja Jagadindra Nath (JN) High School and College in Natore’sBongojol area, have been accused of embezzling around Tk 2,00,00,000 by appointing 25 individuals to the college section through fraudulent backdated appointments and document forgery over the past three years.
The school’s principal has been accused of playing a role in facilitating these appointments; however, he has denied the allegations.
According to sources, the college section of one of the oldest and orthodox school in the country began operations in 2015 and currently has 14 teachers and 12 staff members.
Among the staff, Babu Sheikh was hired as an office peon in 2018. Of the other 25 individuals, Yusuf was appointed as a computer operator this year, while the remaining staff were hired in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
The staff includes four lab assistants, two computer operators, one accounts assistant, one caregiver (aya), one security guard, one cleaner, and one night guard.
Exploiting political ties
It has been alleged that ZahidurRahmanZahid, the chairman of the college section’s governing body, a councillor of Natore municipality, and known as a close associate of former MP Shafiqul Islam Shimul of Natore-2 (Sadar and Naldanga) constituency, used his position to make these appointments.
Further allegations suggest that Zahid took between Tk 5 lakh and Tk 20 lakh for these appointments. Moreover, two teachers, Mannan and Faruk, who had been working since the establishment of the institution, were dismissed in 2022, and two new individuals were appointed to their positions.
However, these new appointees were shown as having been hired in 2015 to secure MPO (Monthly Payment Order) status.
Among the dismissed teachers, Mannan, a mathematics teacher, is currently employed at Hatiandha Girl's School in SingraUpazila, while Faruk, an English teacher, has become unemployed and destitute.
MPO recognition tainted by financial demands
The college section of the Maharaja JN High School and College began its operations in 2015 and received MPO recognition in 2022 after receiving permission for classes and obtaining academic accreditation. During this time, Zahid and Ashraful reportedly demanded large sums of money from the teachers and staff to process their MPO status.
Mannan initially received a refund for the security deposit he had given but is still owed Tk 3 lakh. In contrast, Faruk has yet to recover Tk 3 lakh he paid as security.
Displaced English teacher Faruk said that he had initially deposited Tk 3 lakh to secure his position. In 2022, Zahid demanded an additional Tk 5 lakh to Tk 7 lakh to include him in the MPO, but when Faruk could not pay, another teacher was appointed in his place. Faruk has yet to recover the initial Tk 3 lakh.
The two new hires in Mannan and Faruk’s post have been shown as appointed in 2015 and have secured MPO status.
Forged signatures
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) data, two lecturers, Mathematics Lecturer Md Abdul Mannan and English Lecturer Omar Faruk, had been employed at Maharaja JN High School and College until 2022. However, after the college section received MPO recognition, MdAshraful Islam and Sunam Chandra were appointed to the positions of Mathematics and English lecturers, respectively, with backdated appointments to 2015.
When the school's governing body president, ZahidurRahmanZahid, and principal MdAshraful Islam sought to have the backdated resolutions signed by Dilip Kumar Bhadra, the then-director general's representative and principal of NS Government College, he refused, citing procedural irregularities. Despite this, Zahid allegedly managed to secure MPO inclusion for the two newly appointed teachers.
Dilip Kumar Bhadra confirmed the incident, stating that Zahid and Ashraful came to his residence after the college's MPO announcement, asking him to sign their fabricated resolutions and appointment documents. "When I noticed discrepancies with the 2015 records, I refused to sign and advised them to recruit teachers through NTRCA. Later, I heard that they somehow forged my signature to complete the appointments," he said.
Zahid in hiding as principal denies involvement
Attempts to contact Zahid, who has been in hiding since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, were unsuccessful as his contact number was found switched off.
MdAshraful Islam, the current principal and ex-officio head of the college section, denied involvement in the recruitment process, stating that he merely followed the instructions of the president and the governing body.
When asked, he also claimed to have no knowledge of any financial transactions related to the appointments, adding that no such funds were deposited into the college account.
