The High Court on Sunday ordered an investigation into the death of a class 10 student from Ideal School and College’s Banasree branch to find whether he was a victim of bullying or harassment by other students and teachers.
The student reportedly faced anorexia, bulimia (serious eating disorder) and subsequently harassment and bullying from students and teachers before his death.
The High Court has also asked the authorities concerned to formulate a policy on anti-bullying aimed at preventing bullying.
Bullying can lead to changes in a victim’s sleep and dietary habits. It can even put someone at greater risk for committing suicide. This is why it's so important to prevent bullying.
The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Md Mostafizur Rahman issued the order following hearing on a writ petition in this regard on Sunday. Advocate Tanvir Ahmed, a lawyer of the Supreme Court, filed a writ petition on August 16.
The court asked the Dhaka district education officials to submit the investigation report within the next 60 working days.
The HC bench also issued a rule, asking why the inaction and indifference of authorities concerned who failed to take preventative measures to protect students from bullying in educational institutions should not be declared illegal. The court also asked why educational institutions are not required to have an anti-bullying policy.
Secretaries of the education ministry, law ministry, women and children’s affairs ministry, Dhaka district education officials, upazila education officials and the principal of Ideal School and College were made respondents to the rule. They were asked to respond in four weeks.
On July 8 this year, a news was published in the a media, stating that the family of the Ideal school’s student, who died of anorexia and bulimia, had faced harassment and bullying from students and teachers before his death.
His family alleged that the student was the victim of persistent harassment by students and teachers of his school. The victim’s father Md Fazlul Karim said that his son was regularly harassed at school because of his weight.
The media report had been shared by several thousands of people on social media, including the Facebook, at that time. Many of them shared their experiences with body shaming and bullying.
Later, Advocate Tanvir Ahmed filed the writ petition. He told media that a draft policy on bullying has been prepared, but is has not been finalized. However, bullying in most educational institutions across the country is known to be common.
On the night of June 25, the student of the Ideal school was admitted to the United Hospital in the capital for pneumonia and he died there the next day. In June and July 2020, the boy had weighed 93-kg. After that, he began to limit his food intake.
By December, his weight had dropped to 60-kg. However, the family had believed at the time that the weight loss was normal. But, at the start of this January, some physical changes became apparent. His ankles were swollen, he had lost his usual vitality, and he was often ill.
In February this year, the boy began a special treatment regimen under the supervision of a medicine specialist, dietitian, psychologist and psychiatrist. But his immunity was greatly diminished. His weight soon began dropping rapidly. In May, he was only 29-kg.
Doctors told the family he was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Those who suffer from the disease want to abstain from eating than they need because they fear gaining weight.
With regular treatment and the help of psychologists, the boy did manage to gain some weight, but his body was still weak and could not handle pneumonia he contracted in June.
