Teacher suspended over Facebook post criticising adviser

A government primary school teacher has been suspended for a Facebook post criticising an adviser to the education ministry.

Suspended, Monibul Haque Basunia, is an assistant teacher and acting headmaster of Abul Kashem Girls' Government Primary School at Rajarhat upazila in Kurigram.

District Primary Education Officer (DPEO) Swapan Kumar Roy Chowdhury, issued the suspension order on Saturday (May 17), citing, "Monibul’s social media post is a violation of the Social Media Usage Guidelines for Government Servants-2019 (Revised) and the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018. Authorities claim that his comments tarnished the image of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education."

The post, made on February 26, criticized a statement by Professor Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy Poddar, adviser to the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education.

Speaking at an event in Chattogram on January 26, the adviser said, "The profession of teachers cannot be considered in terms of monetary value. If someone thinks that he does not like it, then he can move to another profession instead of primary.”

In response, Monibul wrote on Facebook: "Adviser, I do not know in which quota you became an adviser. Your words are completely similar to those of the ministers of the fascist era."

Monibul, who has long been active on social media writing about education and teachers' rights, previously protested the low tiffin allowance for teachers, set at just Tk 6.66 in 2020. He stated that his Facebook post was in response to widespread anger among teachers regarding the adviser’s comments.

"No show cause notice was issued before my suspension," Monibul claimed. "I protested on behalf of the teachers' community. Now it feels like our freedom of expression is being suppressed again."

The DPEO alleged that no prior show cause notice was given, stating, "I was dismissed on the orders of higher authorities. If a case is filed, then a response will be required."