Amrail High School in Mohanpur upazila of Rajshahi has 14 teachers, including its headteacher. Yet, none of the 13 students who appeared for this year's SSC examination from the school passed, leaving the institution with a pass rate of zero.
The results were published on Monday, and the information was confirmed by the office of the Mohanpur upazila secondary education officer.
The dismal result has raised questions about the quality of teaching and academic activities at the school, as well as the regular monitoring carried out by the upazila secondary education office.
Education stakeholders and local residents questioned how all 13 candidates could fail despite the school having 14 teachers. They said the result could not be explained solely by the students' academic performance and called for scrutiny of teachers' attendance, regular classroom teaching, student progress and support provided to academically weak students.
There are also allegations that headteacher Manzur Rahman Manju does not regularly attend the school and that some teachers are reluctant to conduct classes.
Some local residents have further alleged that the headteacher and an assistant teacher are involved in drug use. However, these allegations could not be independently verified.
Speaking to this newspaper, Headteacher Manzur Rahman Manju said the result was “very disappointing”.
“I will hold an emergency meeting with all the teachers. I cannot understand why the school's results have become so poor,” he said.
Md.Abdul Matin, academic supervisor of the upazila, said the education office had been aware of allegations that the headteacher and an assistant teacher regularly used drugs.
“Even though we knew about the matter, it was not possible to take action against them as they were considered supporters of the previous government,” he said.
His statement has raised further questions about the education office's role in monitoring the school. If the authorities had been aware of such allegations, questions remain as to why no action was taken earlier and whether regular academic monitoring was actually carried out.
SM Mahmudul Hasan, Mohanpur upazila secondary education officer, said he would recommend cancellation of the school's MPO status following the result.
Meanwhile, Fahima Binte Akhtar, Mohanpur upazila nirbahi officer and president of the school's managing committee, said the headteacher had been summoned to explain the result.
“We will investigate why all the students from the school failed. If negligence in teaching or any dereliction of duty is found, necessary action will be taken against those responsible,” she said.
The authorities' move to consider cancellation of the school's MPO status after the zero-pass result has also prompted questions about whether longstanding academic problems could have been identified through regular monitoring.
This year, a total of 2,042 students from Mohanpur upazila appeared for the SSC, Dakhil and equivalent examinations at five centres.
Of them, 404 candidates from eight institutions took the examinations at Mohanpur Government High School centre, 367 from nine institutions at Mohanpur Government Balila High School centre, and 519 from 13 institutions at Keshorhat High School centre. Another 327 candidates appeared at Keshorhat Technical School and College centre, while 425 candidates from 18 institutions took the examinations at Sankoa-Bakshail Kamil Madrasa centre.
The fact that all 13 SSC candidates from a school failed has prompted calls for an investigation into the institution's academic standards, teachers' responsibilities and the monitoring system of the education office.
Locals have also demanded that authorities examine what steps were taken by the academic supervisor if he had prior knowledge of allegations of irregularities involving teachers.
Education stakeholders said a zero-pass rate at a school is a serious academic warning sign. They said any investigation should examine not only the performance of teachers and students but also the school's management and the effectiveness of monitoring by the relevant education authorities.
