RIYADH, 8 October 2006 — The Ministry of Education has dissolved the three-member Board of Management of the Bangladesh International School-English Section in Riyadh and has instructed the school principal to take over the management and finances of the school till the parents at a special general meeting elect a new board. The three members of the board included Nazrul Islam, Shah Alam and Mohammed Jamuluddin, whose tenure ended in June, were asked to hand over the school management to Principal Mohammed Shaheed Mohammed Hussain.
In a letter addressed to the principal, Abdulaziz Ibn Dibyan, general director of Education for Riyadh had stated that orders for dissolution are being issued in deference to a request made by Retired. Brig. Gen. Ikramul Haque, Bangladesh ambassador, to dissolve the present board and hold fresh elections to elect a new set of office-bearers to the board. The letter directed the outgoing members of the board to handover the management and school funds before Wednesday.
Haque said that the ministry gave him the option to elect or nominate new members to the board, but he preferred to hold the elections to enable parents involve in the management of the school through their elected representatives. Principal Hussein said the outgoing board of management has agreed to a swift transfer of power. “I am waiting for further instructions from the Ministry of Education to work out the modalities of the polls,” Hussein said, pointing out that he hopes to hold the elections soon after the Eid holidays.
Since the school has less than 1,000 students, only five members will be elected at the general meeting, Hussein said. “The school produced 100 percent results at the IGCSE and Edexcel GCE (Advanced Level) examinations,” Alam, outgoing vice chairman, said, recalling that during the last three years, the school’s strength has doubled, science laboratory was renovated, school library was re-organized and a new software program was installed to strengthen parent-teacher interaction.
Meanwhile, the sudden suspension of the school’s Saudi expeditor a day prior to the dissolution of the board had sparked problems between the outgoing board and the Ministry of Education. The ministry had informed the school that the letter of suspension issued by the outgoing Chairman Nazrul Islam is void since the board has not taken a decision formally at one of its regular meetings. Vice Chairman Alam said that he was unaware of such a decision to suspend the expeditor.
