Photo : Collected
Member of Parliament (MP) for Dhaka-20 (Dhamrai) constituency Benjir Ahmed arranged an interactive meeting with beneficiaries at an area of Dhamrai, Dhaka. As part of this engagement, students from Kushura Abbas Ali High School were granted prior leave to attend this event. The venue for this exchange meeting was the ground of Kushura Abbas Ali High School in the Kushura Union of Upazila, commencing around noon on last Thursday.
During this meeting, recipients of various government allowances for the elderly, freedom fighters, and widows, actively voiced their opinions and sought electoral support on behalf of the Awami League. Concurrently a simultaneous event was held in Boda upazila of Panchagarh, where the foundation stone for the 891-meter Y-shaped PC girder bridge was laid at Auliar Ghat on a Wednesday afternoon.
To mark this occasion, a public gathering was arranged by the Madea Bamanhat Union Awami League at the local Madea Model School and College grounds. Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan graced the event as the chief guest. However, the heads of nine educational institutions within the union declared a holiday around 1 pm and asked the students to participate in the rally. These students, clad in their school uniforms and mobilized under the guidance of their teachers were present at the third row of the public rally.
The participating educational institutions, including Madea Model High School, Madea Balika High School, Futkibari High School, Kamalapukuri Pradhanhat High School, and Madea Jangli Peer High School, were prominently acknowledged by banners placed on nearby trees.
The incidents of students being compelled to attend political gatherings have become a recurrent phenomenon. When confronted about these occurrences, the concerned authority often evades preferring silence and occasionally saying that students attribute their presence spontaneously. However, when candidly questioned, the students divulge the reality of their coerced involvement.
Critics argue that mandating student participation in politically charged meetings unrelated to their educational pursuits is entirely unwarranted. Such arrangements not only breed animosity among the students but also impose physical strain upon them. Therefore, the enforced involvement of students in political events from the school level is considered undesirable by experts posing a threat to the conducive educational environment. Efforts to curb such incidents require proactive involvement from related authorities including the upazila and district education officers, upazila administration, school management committees, teachers, and notably, public representatives.
Messenger/Disha
