Teachers made to bribe

As many as 225 newly recruited teachers for government primary schools in the district had to pay bribe of Tk 500 to Tk 1,000 to the civil surgeon's (CS) office for getting their 'medical fitness certificate'.

They went to collect the certificate yesterday and office assistant-cum-computer operator Mahmuda Jahan Rosy openly took Tk 500 to Tk 1,000 from each.

Hearing the matter, local journalists went to the office and found the allegation true. “We collected money from teachers as honorarium for the civil surgeon,” Rosy told journalists.

Rabindra Nath Khaskel, head assistant of the CS office, said, “We collected money as per instruction from the civil surgeon and we will give it to him as his honorarium.”

“I gave Tk 500 to Rosy as other teachers also gave money to her to get the certificate without any hassle,” said Md Hasan of Badorpur village under Patuakhali Sadar upazila, a newly recruited primary teacher. Many other teachers echoed the same.

Patuakhali CS Dr Mozahedul Islam said, “I don't know about the matter.