Teachers and students of Shabjanesa Women’s Kamil Madrasa in Faridpur have demanded the removal of its principal, Md Alomgir Hossain, following allegations of sexual harassment, inappropriate conduct, financial misappropriation and other administrative irregularities.
They staged a human chain on the road outside the madrasa on Sunday afternoon, calling for an impartial investigation into the allegations and appropriate action against the principal if the claims are substantiated.
During the protest, participants alleged that the principal had behaved inappropriately towards several female students, including allegedly touching some of them in an improper manner. A teacher at the institution said teachers were expected to act as guardians for their students and expressed concern over allegations that girls were no longer feeling safe at the madrasa.
The teacher also accused the principal of violating the rights of orphaned students by allegedly misappropriating food and other items intended for them.
According to madrasa sources, Shabjanesa Women’s Kamil Madrasa was established in 1989 in the Purba Khabaspur area of Faridpur city with the aim of promoting Islamic education. The institution is affiliated with Islamic Arabic University and currently has more than 500 students, including residential students, and around 30 teachers.
Alomgir Hossain joined the madrasa as principal on 1 December 2023. Teachers taking part in the protest alleged that irregularities began to surface after his appointment, involving various allocations, donations and tuition fees.
The protesters alleged that Tk300,000 provided in two instalments through the Upazila Project Implementation Officer for renovation and development work, Tk200,000 from the district council, Tk100,000 collected from teachers and employees in the name of a ministry audit, and Tk140,000 provided by a publishing organisation as a donation to the madrasa during the 2025–26 financial year had been misappropriated.
They also alleged irregularities involving funds allocated for the BMed programme and claimed that textbooks for different classes had been sold without following the required quotation process.
Teachers raised another serious allegation involving a first-year Fazil student. They claimed the student had been offered a job and money and was subsequently pressured into inappropriate activities. According to the protesters, students discovered the matter on 16 August. Several chat conversations later circulated, intensifying discussion within the institution.
The teachers further alleged that when the issue became widely discussed, the principal threatened teachers and students and assaulted some of them with a stick.
The principal subsequently left the madrasa after taking leave from the institution’s president and the district administration from 19 August, citing illness. Teachers said he had not returned to the institution since then.
On the same day, teachers, female teachers, students and employees submitted a written complaint to the district administration. The complaint was followed by a visit to the madrasa on 22 September by Insana Tanzin Iko, an assistant commissioner for education and executive magistrate for welfare under the district administration.
Acting principal Dr Md Aminul Islam said that, in the presence of the visiting official, several sexual stimulants and related items were allegedly found in a drawer of the principal’s office desk. He also claimed that documents relating to various financial allocations could not be found.
Alomgir Hossain, however, has rejected the allegations as part of a conspiracy against him. Speaking to the media, he claimed that the accusations stemmed from a dispute with Ashiqur Rahman Bachchu, a founding member of the madrasa. He said he had been served with a show-cause notice and had already submitted a written response.
The principal also questioned the credibility of items allegedly recovered from his office. He said the room had been locked since 16 August and that he had been unable to enter it. Under those circumstances, he argued, items could have been placed inside the room without his knowledge.
The allegations have now triggered demands for a formal investigation into both the conduct of the principal and the madrasa’s financial affairs. Teachers and students have called for an impartial inquiry into the complaints and demanded the principal’s removal if the allegations are established. They have also urged the authorities to examine the institution’s allocations, donations, financial records and other reported irregularities.
