In honour of the courageous act of teacher Mehrin Chowdhury, who sacrificed her life to save students during the tragic plane crash in Uttara, Dhaka, the government has announced the establishment of a special national award named after her.
This award will be presented to teachers who demonstrate exceptional bravery, humanity, and dedication to their duties.
The decision was made during a meeting of the Advisory Council, chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, held at the Secretariat on Thursday.
The information was shared with the media by the Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam in a press briefing following the meeting.
“The Milestone tragedy has been discussed again,” said Shafiqul Alam. “There was a conversation about how we can honour those who passed away, especially the two teachers and female support staff. In the coming days, you’ll learn more about the decisions taken in this regard.”
Shafiqul Alam stated that Mehrin Chowdhury’s act of valor, in which she risked her life to save her students, would be commemorated by a national award called the ‘Mehrin Chowdhury Award for Outstanding Services’. This award will be specifically for teachers who exemplify courage, humanity, and devotion to their profession, Shafiqul said.
The ‘Mehrin Chowdhury Award’ will be presented annually to educators who set examples of selflessness and heroism in the field of education. The formal guidelines and procedures for the award will be announced soon.
On July 21, a Bangladesh Air Force aircraft crashed on the compound of Milestone School and College in Uttara, Dhaka, while classes were in session. In the chaos that followed, teacher Mehrin Chowdhury exhibited incredible bravery by guiding her students to safety. For her swift actions, at least 20 students’ lives were saved.
Following the incident, Mehrin’s heroic story spread rapidly through social media and news outlets, touching the hearts of the entire nation, and leading to an outpouring of grief and respect.
Thursday’s meeting at the Secretariat, which started at 10:30am and ended at noon, marked the second official meeting of the Advisory Council since the beginning of the interim government period. Mehrin Chowdhury’s bravery and sacrifice were extensively discussed at the meeting.
Due to the presence of the chief adviser, extra security measures were implemented at the Secretariat, including the temporary closure of all gates except the main one, and a ban on visitor entry during the meeting.