Deadlock prevails at Khulna NTI

Students form human chain, continue class boycott

29 April 2009, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent, Khulna

Students of Khulna Nursing Training Institute (NTI), who have been boycotting their classes and abstaining from duties since April 19, formed a human chain in front of Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) yesterday to press home their demand for removal of chief instructor Marjina Khatun for her alleged torture on the students. They have also threatened to go on fast unto death if the authorities concerned do not meet their demand within the next 15 days. A total of 170 students of the institute joined the human chain programme and strongly protested “failure” of a five-member committee to submit a report on findings of probe into various allegations made by NTI students against the chief instructor. One of the allegations against the chief instructor is that she forced three students to run around the institute ground with shoes hanging from their necks as punishment for not wearing socks during duty hours at the KMCH on April 18. Civil Surgeon Dr Lutfor Rahman formed the committee on April 19 with Deputy Civil Surgeon Daud Ali Mir as its chief. He asked the committee to submit its report by April 24. “We want removal of Marjina Khatun and appointment of a new chief instructor,” said NTI students Dipika Mitra, Tania Khatun and Shwapna, who are leading the agitation. A large number of patients have left Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) and Khulna General Hospital as they are not getting proper medicare services due to work abstention by 170 students of Khulna Nursing Training Institute.