Basila, Mohammadpur, Dhaka | 20 June 2026 | Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK)

On 20 June 2026, the elder sister of Seema Akter (pseudonym), a 15-year-old Class 10 student at a school in the Basila area, contacted ASK’s Speak Up team. She reported that school authorities were attempting to issue Seema a Transfer Certificate (TC) based on an allegation that she was in a relationship with a male classmate.

Field organiser Shyamoli Khatun, in consultation with the Speak Up project team, advised Seema and her family to seek legal advice from ASK’s Legal Aid Unit. On 22 June 2026, Seema visited the ASK office with her two elder sisters and consulted with an ASK lawyer. At the same time, the Speak Up project coordinator contacted the school’s Head Teacher directly to raise the issue of protecting the child’s right to education. The Head Teacher took the matter seriously and committed to reviewing it with the school committee.

The school committee subsequently investigated the allegation with school teachers and found it to be unfounded. They instructed that Seema should not be issued a TC and should not face any unfair treatment. According to the latest follow-up, Seema is now taking her pre-selection exams as normal and is no longer facing any obstacles at school.