Dhaka University hall provosts have demanded action against teachers accused of tarnishing the university’s image by visiting polling centres without permission and spreading misinformation.
The demand was brought up at a meeting of the provost committee chaired by DU Vice Chancellor (VC) Md Akhtaruzzaman, said a DU statement signed by its Director (public relations) Mahmud Alam on Tuesday evening.
The provosts have said the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) and hall union elections were fair and were held in a democratic manner.
According to the statement, the provosts at the meeting said some quarters had ill motives to unsettle and destabilize the election atmosphere in some isolated incidents, as part of a greater conspiracy.
A day before the Ducsu polls, a group of DU teachers, in a written statement, said they would visit polling centres voluntarily on election day as observers and would share their experiences.
On the polling day, eight teachers visited different centres and discussed the election atmosphere with the media.
In a joint statement on election day, the observers also demanded a fresh election, citing various incidents of irregularities.
Meanwhile, DU professor of physics, Kamrul Hasan Mamun, who was a voluntary observer, said they had not said anything that could tarnish the university’s image.
The DU statement further said many candidates, voters, and students had expressed their satisfaction and thanked all the provosts, residential teachers, and other associated teachers, for holding the election with honesty, sincerity, and transparency.
It also said the provosts praised the students for their spontaneous participation, their patient behaviour, and for maintaining an overall disciplined atmosphere on polling day.
It also read they had not received any complaints from anyone about failing to cast their vote, or votes being cast by others, or facing barriers or harassment in casting their vote.
It was decided at the meeting that the new Ducsu and hall unions will meet for the first time on Saturday to hold their executive council meeting.
