Filled with joy, students of a primary school in Bhaluka went to classes yesterday, one and a half months after a local government representative had locked the institution for not getting speed money from the contractor who built the school.

Rafiqul Islam Ismail, member of Ward-1 of Hobirbari Union Parishad, the lowest tier of the local government, padlocked Gangatia Educo Skikhhalaya for not getting toll from the construction firm based in the capital.

“We are very happy as the school locked by the UP member has finally been reopened,” said one of the smiling children at the school.

School and local sources said Rafiqul locked the school claiming contractor Sheikh International in Dhaka owed him money.

The school has 175 students from pre-primary to class-V and is run by Education and Development Foundation, a Spanish NGO.

The sources said the school building was constructed at a cost of Tk 70 lakh and the contractor handed over the building to the authorities concerned on August 10.

ATM Rafiqul Islam, coordinator of Education and Development Foundation in Mymensingh, said the union parishad member went to the school the same day and claimed Tk 2 lakh.

“As we expressed our inability to pay, he locked the school and left,” added the coordinator.

He also warned not to open the school until he received “his dues”, the sources said.

“We tried to manage the issue locally and informed local elites and political leaders,” said the official.

“Finally, we informed Kamrul Ahsan Talukder, upazila nirbahi officer of Bhaluka, of the matter and he called the UP member at his office and asked him to open the school on August 20,” said the coordinator.

However, the member did not pay heed to the UNO's instructions.

The UNO along with upazila officials and Officer-in-Charge Mamun-or-Rashid of Bhaluka Police Station went to the school Thursday afternoon and opened the school.

The school managing committee has filed a general diary with Bhaluka police.

“Punitive measures will be taken against the member if he created any disturbance in future,” the UNO said.

The officials also handed over education materials among the schoolchildren at a gathering of teachers, students and their guardians.

Nadira Akhtar Lipi, head teacher of the school, said they were very happy now.

The UP member could not be contacted for comments as his mobile phone was found switched off.