Seven teachers transferred from Comilla Government Women’s College following exam center flooding crisis
Authorities have transferred seven teachers from Cumilla Government Women's College, exactly ten days after nearly 1,000 HSC examinees were forced to wade through waist-deep water to reach the center during heavy rainfall. The transfer order, issued Thursday by the Ministry of Education’s Secondary and Higher Education Division, mandates that the seven educators report to the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) before being reassigned to various colleges across the country.
The incident, which occurred on July 13, drew widespread national criticism, prompting educational authorities to relocate the center to a different venue shortly thereafter. Among those transferred are six officials who were responsible for the management of the 2024 HSC examination at the center, as well as the college’s acting principal, who was not directly involved in the testing process.
While the ministry’s notification does not explicitly cite the July 13 flooding as the reason for the transfers, affected faculty members believe the order is a direct consequence of the event. The group includes acting principal A.K.M. Zahirul Alam, examination center officer-in-charge Abdul Malek, and examination committee convener Kanak Barua, alongside other faculty members from various departments. Under the terms of the order, the teachers must be released from their current positions by July 29 or face immediate release through the ministry’s digital system.
The mass transfer has sparked significant frustration and resentment among the college staff. Teachers argue that the flooding was the result of a severe weather event—107 millimeters of rainfall in three hours—compounded by long-standing drainage issues within the city, which remain the responsibility of the local government.
"Where is the fault of the teachers?" one educator remarked, noting that the staff endured the same hazardous conditions as the students to ensure the exams could proceed. "We did not create the waterlogging; it is a municipal issue. It is demoralizing to be held responsible for circumstances beyond our control."
Prior to the incident, the college had never seen a mass transfer of this scale. The reassigned faculty members have been dispersed to locations ranging from Cox’s Bazar and Noakhali to Sylhet and Barguna, marking a sudden and significant shift in the institution's leadership and staffing structure.
