High Court to decide Tuesday if appointment of Viqarunnisa principal valid
Stays her joining the college until court verdict tomorrow
The High Court on Tuesday will decide whether the appointment of Fougia Rezwan as the new principal of the Viqarunnisa Noon School and College is valid.
The lower division of the Supreme Court has ordered the government to ensure that the secondary and higher education directorate official Fougia does not join the institution before the verdict.
The High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Khairul Alam passed the order on Monday after hearing a writ petition filed challenging the appointment.
Supreme Court Lawyer Yunus Ali Akhand on Monday lodged a writ challenging the validity of the appointment of the new principal.
Yunus moved the petition, while Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta stood for the state.
Yunus said the Viqarunnisa governing body is solely authorised to appoint the new head according to Teachers Service Regulations, 1979. The government appointed Fougia bypassing the regulation.
He argued on the point, while Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta said he wanted to respond after analysing the regulations. He sought time to the court for that.
Lawyer Yunus then argued that the new principal is supposed to join the school on Tuesday. If the state is granted time, she might take office by then.
The court then set Tuesday for the judgement and asked the state to ensure that the new principal does not assume office till 11:00am on the day.
Three Viqarunnisa teachers, including Acting Principal Nazneen Ferdous, were removed in 2018 following widespread criticisms sparked by the suicide incident of a student.
Since then, Viqarunnisa College Assistant Professor Hasina Begum has been serving as the principal.
The Ministry of Education dismissed the principal appointment at the final stage in April this year after allegations of irregularities over the appointment ran rife.
In its latest development, the education ministry on Sunday issued a circular tasking Fougia Rezwan as the new principal of the educational institution.
