A female student who was caught cheating in school examination has committed suicide, after her father was called in and humiliated by school authorities.
In addition, the school’s principal Nazneen Ferdous was accosted by the student’s relatives at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), when she went to visit the hospital after hearing news of the student’s death.
The student, who was studying in class 9 at Viqarunnisa Noon School & College, took her life by hanging herself from a ceiling fan at her home in the Shantinagar area of Dhaka on Monday.
The deceased’s father said a teacher confiscated a mobile phone from the student when she was sitting for an exam on Sunday.
The teacher accused the student of using the phone to cheat, and the school authorities called in the student’s parents as a result.
The student’s father alleged that both the vice principal and principal had misbehaved and insulted him when he went to the school with his wife and daughter on Monday.
The school authorities had also told him to collect his daughter’s transfer certificate today, the father claimed.
At one point during the discussions, the student ran out from the principal’s room. When her parents returned home, they found her hanging from a ceiling fan.
The student was first taken to a local hospital before being transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where doctors pronounced her dead, her father said.
Pantan police SI Ataur Rahman said: “We have sent the body to the DMCH morgue for autopsy. We are investigating the matter.”
Meanwhile, Viqarunnisa Noon School & College Principal Nazneen Ferdous visited DMCH at 7 pm on Monday, after hearing news of the student's death. The student’s relatives surrounded the principal’s car and accosted her, and Nazneen swiftly left the hospital
When contacted, the principal told the Dhaka Tribune: “The student was caught cheating in an exam with a mobile phone, which is strictly prohibited. In these circumstances, we usually expel the students.”
“However, we called her parents to tell them she would not be able to sit for the rest of the exams, and a decision on the incident would be taken after discussions with the governing body. We told them that they would be informed of the decision later,” she added.
