A section of teachers at Jahangirnagar University on Monday confined the university’s registrar and deputy registrar (teaching) at their office protesting the appointment of three new deans at three faculties.
Agitating under the banner of General Teachers’ Forum, they alleged that the authorities had violated the agreements reached at the meeting with the education ministry regarding the movement against the vice-chancellor.
Prof Dr Amir Hossain, dean of social science faculty, said: “The VC is not allowed to appoint anyone in any post of the university until the investigation report is published. But he has violated the condition by appointing these three new deans.”
“[VC] Prof Anwar Hossain is behaving like an autocrat and behind this he has a sinister motive we believe,” he added.
Source said the VC on Monday appointed Prof Abdul Bayes, Prof Dr Md Rafiqun Nabi and Prof Dr Nasim Akhter Hossain as deans to business, life science and law faculties respectively.
Hearing the information, the agitating teachers confined Registrar Abu Bakr Siddique and Deputy Registrar (teaching) Md Abu Hossain at their ofice around 2pm and stopped them from processing the appointments, already signed by the VC.
The teachers alleged that the VC had replaced law faculty dean Prof Sheikh Md Monzurul Haque with Prof Nasim Akhter without any reason or any particular allegation against him.
Moreover, Prof Monzurul was yet to complete his term as the dean of the faculty. On the other hand, the appointment of Prof Rafiqun Nabi as the dean of life science faculty was against the university’s rule as he had never worked as a dean before, they claimed.
General Secretary of the forum Prof Kamrul Ahsan told the Dhaka Tribune: “We, both Education Minister Md Nurul Islam Nahid and the protesting teachers, came to an agreement that the VC cannot preside over any meeting of the Senate, Syndicate, financial committee, academic council or disciplinary committee of the university until the investigation is over and that he cannot give appointment to anyone in any post of the university.”
“But the VC has violated the condition which blatantly shows his disregard towards the decisions taken at the meeting with the education minister,” Prof Kamrul added.
