DSHE to investigate alleged irregularities at BCSIR School after The Daily Campus report

The education administration has decided to investigate allegations of irregularities involving the acting headteacher and managing committee of BCSIR School and College in Dhaka’s Science Lab area following a report by The Daily Campus.

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) has taken a policy-level decision to investigate the allegations.

According to DSHE sources, a two-member committee is being formed to examine the allegations against the institution. The relevant file has already received approval, and an investigation order may be issued next week.

A DSHE official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Daily Campus that higher authorities ordered an investigation after the report was published.

“The file has already been processed. If irregularities are proven during the investigation, recommendations will be made for strict action against those responsible,” the official said.

Allegations over teachers’ salaries

One of the allegations concerns additional payments made to senior MPO-listed teachers from the institution’s own funds.

According to information obtained by The Daily Campus, in 2024, a senior teacher in Grade 8 received a basic salary of around Tk 32,390 under the national pay scale. After a 10% deduction, around Tk 32,300 was drawn as the MPO component. The teacher was allegedly paid an additional Tk 46,799 from the institution’s own fund, bringing the combined monthly payment to around Tk 79,000.

Complainants have questioned whether such additional payments are consistent with the government and institutional salary structures. They also claimed that the institution’s expenditure under this head increased further following a 5% increase in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Questions have also been raised over payments to part-time teachers. According to the allegations, part-time teacher Shiuli Akter was initially appointed with a monthly salary of Tk 7,000, which was later increased to Tk 15,000 and then to Tk 22,000 this year. The salaries of most other part-time teachers were also allegedly increased from Tk 15,000–16,000 to Tk 22,000.

This has drawn criticism because many MPO-listed teachers reportedly receive only Tk 7,500–15,000 from the institution’s own fund.

Allowances and bonuses

The institution has also been accused of introducing Boishakhi allowances and Eid bonuses for part-time teachers through a resolution this year.

According to information provided by the complainants, part-time teachers without a BEd qualification received Tk 2,500 as a Boishakhi allowance and Tk 12,500 as an Eid bonus, while BEd-qualified teachers received Tk 3,200 and Tk 16,000 respectively.

The complainants alleged that festival allowances paid to MPO-listed teachers from the institution’s own fund are several times lower than those given to part-time teachers.

Questions over managing committee

Several allegations have also been raised against acting headteacher Md Zafar Ullah, including retaining a parent representative on the managing committee after the representative’s child left the institution, paying what complainants describe as unauthorised honorariums for committee meetings, recruiting part-time teachers without following applicable rules, maintaining different salary scales, allegedly receiving benefits from guidebook companies, financial irregularities through false bills and vouchers, and failing to provide information on vacant posts to the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA).

The managing committee membership of Dr Shah Jamal has also been questioned.

According to the allegations, Dhaka Education Board approved a committee on November 15, 2024, with Dr Shah Jamal included as a parent representative. His child was studying at the institution at the time. The child later left for another institution, but Dr Shah Jamal allegedly remained on the committee for another six months and continued attending meetings and intervening in its activities.

There are also allegations of financial irregularities in organising managing committee meetings. Complainants claimed that Tk 40,000–50,000 was spent from the institution’s general fund on honorariums and hospitality for each meeting. They alleged that the relevant regulations do not allow payment of honorariums for participation in such meetings.

Part-time recruitment under scrutiny

The institution has also been accused of failing to follow proper procedures in recruiting part-time teachers.

According to the allegations, many part-time teachers appointed after 2015 were subsequently incorporated into various institutional activities and had their salaries increased through resolutions from April this year. The complainants further alleged that recruitment examinations for some of them were not conducted through the required process.

An investigation by The Daily Campus found that five part-time teachers in sociology had been retained and added to the Bangladesh Education Statistics and Information (BANBEIS) system at increased salaries despite the institution already having two MPO-listed teachers in the subject.

The allegations have also raised questions about the necessity of maintaining five part-time sociology teachers when the humanities section has fewer than 50 students in total.

Alleged payments from guidebook companies

The institution has also been accused of receiving money from guidebook companies.

According to the allegations, around Tk 300,000 was received from a guidebook company in 2025, while more than Tk 350,000 was allegedly received from another company in 2026.

The complainants claimed the money was collected in the name of creating a teachers’ fund, but that its use and accounting lacked transparency.

They also alleged that students were required to purchase specific guidebooks and that teachers were instructed to prepare questions for internal examinations based on those books.

Questions over financial records

Allegations have also been raised over the institution’s procurement and financial management.

Complainants claimed that false bills and vouchers were used to show expenditure for various purchases and that financial transactions were completed in some cases without effective participation by members of the relevant committees.

They have called for the institution’s accounts, bank statements, bills, vouchers and resolutions to be reviewed as part of the investigation to establish whether the allegations are substantiated.

Zafar Ullah does not respond

The Daily Campus contacted acting headteacher Zafar Ullah several times by phone to seek his response to the allegations, but he did not answer the calls.

The allegations were subsequently sent to him via WhatsApp in a written message. He did not respond to the message either.