Bangladesh official orders students caught skipping class to plant 800 trees as penalty

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Four students from Pangsha Government George Pilot High School in Rajbari have been ordered to plant 800 saplings as a corrective measure after they were caught skipping classes to swim in a local pond. The punishment, mandated by Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md. Rifatul Haque, requires each student to plant 200 trees alongside their guardians within the next seven days.

The incident occurred Thursday afternoon as the UNO was returning to his office following a tree distribution event. He encountered the four students, dressed in school uniforms, idling at a pond ghat within the upazila complex. While the students initially claimed they had permission to be away during the tiffin break, a verification call to the school administration revealed that no such leave had been granted.

Upon further questioning at the UNO’s office, the students admitted they had skipped school to attend a wedding, having forged the assistant head teacher’s signature on a leave application. The students’ guardians were subsequently summoned and provided written assurances that such behavior would not recur.

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Rasheda Khatun, the acting head teacher of the school, confirmed that the tenth-grade students had scaled the school’s perimeter wall to escape. She expressed frustration regarding the difficulty of maintaining discipline, noting that teachers often face harassment when attempting to enforce strict rules on students.

According to UNO Haque, this was not an isolated incident at the school. During a routine inspection on June 21, officials discovered that 131 students were absent, leading to a meeting with parents just two days prior. The UNO stated that while this current penalty is intended as a corrective lesson for a first-time offense, any future violations will be met with more stringent disciplinary actions.