RIYADH, 3 January — The managing committee of Bangladesh International School, Riyadh, has stirred a controversy by firing three teachers this week. Eight more teachers are said to be on the termination list. "The ill-conceived move" is likely to jeopardize the running of this school, according to a group of parents.
The simmering discontent took the form of a protest yesterday when the school reopened after the Eid holidays with the parents demanding the sacking of the managing committee. The parents have prepared a letter to Minister of Education Dr. Muhammad Al-Rasheed to resolve the matter.
A spokesman for the parents, Nurul Islam Chowdhury, said that a memorandum has already been given to the Bangladesh Ambassador Mahbub Alam, the school's chief patron, asking him to look into the irregularities of the managing committee. The BISR is one of the largest foreign schools in the Kingdom with an enrollment of over 1,000 students and a teaching staff of 39.
Chowdhury accused the present committee headed by Feroz Hussain Khan of mismanagement, saying that the latter had turned the school into a political arena. Khan is said to be an activist of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), which is headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. He has been accused of using school resources to promote party interests.
Khan, however, has denied the charges, saying that the termination of the teachers has nothing to do with politics. "It is a cost-cutting exercise undertaken by the school committee," he said.
But Chowdhury said the three terminated teachers were well-qualified in their respective subjects. The termination will eventually lead to an acute scarcity of teachers during this academic session. At the moment, each member of the teaching staff engages more than 35 periods on a weekly basis.
Chowdhury, a former chairman of the BISR managing committee, said the present seven-member committee had no interest to promote the school, "rather they are politically and financially motivated."
Besides nepotism, the committee members have been harassing teachers by terminating their services, suspending them for certain periods, reducing their salaries, issuing warnings and show-cause notices,
he charged.
Referring to irregularities at the BISR, he said the school managing committee had failed to maintain transparency. The committee has also increased the school magazine fee contrary to the wishes of the parents. He said that the parents had not been allowed access to the managing committee members.
In another move to check dissidence, the committee previously canceled the scheduled meeting of the parents, Chowdhury said.
