Embezzlement of school fund alleged

Most of the Tk 3.24 crore allocated under School Level Improvement Plan (SLIP) for 732 government primary schools in five upazilas of the district have been allegedly embezzled by the headmasters and managing committee presidents of the schools. 

Purbo Amjhol Government Primary School in Amjhol village under Hatibandha upazila got money from the SLIP fund and the special fund for repairing the school, but no improvement work has been done.

Headmaster Akhtara Banu said, "It isn't true that I and the School Managing Committee (SMC) president embezzled the allocated fund."

SMC president Saidul Islam said repair work is going on.

However, students and guardians said, the school headmaster and the SMC president built only a veranda spending Tk 20-25 thousand in the last one week."

Similar picture of misusing the SLIP and special fund is found in all government primary schools, especially in 21 schools in Hatibandha and Patgram upazilas.

Several headmasters and SMC presidents alleged that secretary of Hatibandha upazila unit of Awami League Mahmudul Hasan Sohag controls the special government fund.

Sohag refuted the allegation and said the authorities of the schools get the fund through cheque from the ministry concerned. "Why and how can I embezzle the government fund? It is not true," he said.

District Primary Education Officer in the district Nobez Uddin Sarker said departmental action will be taken against any school authority found guilty of embezzlement.