Narail education authorities have banned students from using mobile phones in schools, colleges and madrasas after a student's Facebook post prompted a mob to humiliate a teacher.
The district's Education Officer Sayedur Rahman said in a letter to the heads of the institutions that the students were secretly taking phones to the institutions and their thoughtless posts were creating tensions.
He told the institutions to check students' bags, if necessary, and punish them if a mobile phone is found, reports bdnews24.com.
He ordered meetings with students and their parents to ensure that the pupils do not take phones to the institutions.
The education authorities of the district will monitor the implementation of the orders following requests from residents of the district, it added.
The incident which led the authorities to issue the orders took place at Mirzapur United Degree College in the wake of a post on Facebook by a Hindu student who had shared a photo of Indian BJP leader Nupur Sharma, who has been criticised for her remarks on Prophet Muhammad.
According to locals, some Muslim students asked the Hindu student to delete the post on Jun 18 after he had gone to the college.
Tension mounted when rumours spread that acting Principal Swapan Kumar Biswas took the Hindu student's side. Angry Muslim locals and students set the motorcycles of the principal and two teachers on fire. The mob also clashed with the police.
A video of the incident showed the locals and students putting a garland of shoes around Swapan's neck in the presence of police, accusing him of belittling Islam for his alleged attempt to save the Hindu student from the same mob.
The law enforcers took the principal along with the student to the police station. However, police said the principal was not detained.
The Bangladesh Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education has formed a committee to investigate the incident amid protests across the country.
Swapan has not been staying at home since the incident. His wife said he went into hiding because he was feeling insecure.
Police started a case 10 days after the incident and arrested four suspects amid nationwide protests and condemnation.
The Awami League on Friday suspended a local leader, who is also a teacher of the college and was seen in a video of the incident.
