Kalaroa headmaster retired under normal rules, not over controversy regarding name
A video recently posted on Facebook claims that the headmaster of Kalaroa Government Primary School was forced into retirement after becoming a victim of a mob attack because his name is Mujibur Rahman. However, Dismislab’s fact-check found that the claim is not true. In fact, Md. Mujibur Rahman retired under normal rules and was not the victim of any mob attack. He confirmed to Dismislab that his retirement has no political connection.
On September 1, a video was posted from a personal profile on Facebook. The caption of the post read, “Mujibur Rahman, headmaster of Kalaroa Government Primary School, has been forced into retirement after becoming a victim of a mob attack. His crime is that his name is Mujibur Rahman! Even though his colleagues did not stand by him out of fear, his beloved students broke down in tears…”
The one-minute-35-second video shows a group of schoolchildren crying around an elderly man dressed in white. As of the time this report was published, the video had received more than 2,200 reactions, been shared more than 900 times, and viewed more than 48,000 times.
A relevant keyword search found that the video was posted with the same claim from multiple Facebook pages (1, 2) and personal profiles (1, 2, 3).
To verify the claim, Dismislab ran a reverse image search with various keyframes from the video. This found an exact match between the video that had gone viral and a video posted on August 31 from a Facebook page named “Faruk Raz”. The caption of that video read, “Only that teacher knows how painful it is to bid farewell to a headmaster amid students’ tears. Today, Mujibur Rahman, headmaster of Kalaroa Government Primary School, signed off on the last day of his career. I pray for God’s mercy upon you 🤲 🥺”
In further verification, a keyword search found a post from a Facebook profile named Md Imamur Rahman on August 31, which presented Md Mujibur Rahman’s farewell, while recognising a long and respected career. The post contained a detailed account of his honesty, fairness, and sincerity toward his students. There was no mention anywhere of a mob, forced retirement, or any political pressure.
During its investigation, Dismislab found Rahman’s personal Facebook profile. The Faruk Raz video was also found to have been shared on his account. Dismislab contacted Mujibur Rahman, who confirmed that the claim was not correct.
He told Dismislab, “My date of birth is September 1, 1967. My career ended on August 31. I am retiring normally, in accordance with government rules. I am now going on PRL (Post-Retirement Leave).”
Asked whether he had become the victim of a mob attack because of his name, Mujibur Rahman said, “No such incident occurred at all. I have served with a good reputation for many years. I retired normally. There is no political connection here.”
Under the Government Service Act, 2018, a general government employee retires upon reaching the age of 59 and subsequently avails a maximum of one year of Post-Retirement Leave (PRL), a routine administrative process. Md. Mujibur Rahman’s date of birth and his last working day are entirely consistent with this rule, meaning he is retiring simply because he has reached the prescribed age limit.
It is worth noting that, under the Government Service Act, 2018, the retirement age for general government employees is 59, which also applies to headmasters of primary schools, and reaching this age limit is a routine administrative process.
In other words, the claim that the headmaster was forced into retirement after becoming a victim of a mob attack because his name is Mujibur Rahman is false.
