Vice-Chancellor of Jahangirnagar University Prof M Anwar Hossain yesterday announced to quit the post as he has been barred to enter the campus for over a month in the face of agitation by a section of teachers demanding his resignation.
Prof Anwar in the afternoon told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have decided to resign from the post and asked for an appointment of President and JU Chancellor Abdul Hamid [today]. I will submit my resign letter to him if he is available.”
The former Dhaka University professor said: “I am an elected vice-chancellor. No one can bring me down from my position unless I resign voluntarily.”
He has been conducting office at a rented house in Uttara since the first week of December.
A section of pro-Awami League teachers loyal to ousted VC Prof Shariff Enamul Kabir in collaboration with pro-BNP teachers launched the movement against Prof Anwar as he had failed to mete out punishment for unruly leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League for assaulting a teacher.
General Secretary of the unit Rajib Ahmed Rasel reportedly assaulted an economics department lecturer and also a Syndicate member on April 6. Though the VC suspended him immediately for six months, he later withdrew the punishment.
Since then, the protesting teachers were agitating against the VC under different banners bringing some 18 allegations against him and boycotted classes and examinations several times.
The administrative office of the university was locked for over 60 days in the last nine months.
On December 3, agitating teachers confined the VC at his residence for the second time while police rescued him on December 5 and send him to Dhaka.
Since then, agitating teachers had sealed and locked his residence on the campus and barred him from entering the campus premises.
Then president and JU chancellor Zillur Rahman appointed Prof Anwar on May 20, 2012 as Prof Shariff was forced to step down on May 17 following protests on the campus over the murder of Zubair Ahmed and the Chhatra League’s attack on university’s cultural activists.
Taking the charge of the university, Prof Anwar arranged the VC panel election on July 20 and he was re-appointed by the chancellor on July 24 from a three-member elected panel.
