3 Public Universities: VCs’ greetings to BNP leaders raise ethical questions

The vice chancellors of at least three public universities have recently used their institutions’ official platforms to congratulate BNP leaders on appointments to party posts amid ongoing controversies over politically influenced appointments to top university positions.

Last month, the VCs of Jahangirnagar University, Gopalganj Science and Technology University (GSTU) and Khulna University issued the greetings regarding party positions of BNP leaders rather than constitutional or state offices. All three had led BNP-aligned teachers’ organisations in the past, according to documents of the associations.

Talking to this newspaper, several educationists said the VCs’ messages raised questions about whether partisan affiliations were influencing institutional conduct. Academics could hold political views, but universities’ official platforms should not be used to convey them.

The development coincides with mounting criticism of appointments to top positions at public universities. Upon assuming office in February, the BNP-led government appointed VCs to at least 30 universities between March 16 and July 27. Allegations have been raised that many of these appointments were politically influenced.

In March, it appointed VCs to seven public universities and also the chairman of the University Grants Commission. All eight had links with BNP-aligned organisations, while several of them held party positions, according to data on the BNP’s official website and documents of pro-BNP organisations.

Prof ABM Obaidul Islam, former education affairs secretary of the BNP’s central committee, was made VC of Dhaka University, while Prof Mamun Ahmed, a former member of the BNP chairperson’s advisory council, was made UGC chairman.

Md Habibur Rahman, a professor of zoology at Rajshahi University who was made the VC of Kishoreganj University, was president of Zia Parishad and also adviser to the Jatiyatabadi Shikkhak Forum, according to RU sources.

Education Minister Ehsanul Hoque Milon defended the appointments at the time. “Is it a crime if a person is involved in politics?” he asked.

He further said the government made the decisions considering the research, publications, citations and academic qualifications of the appointees.

The BNP government on May 14 replaced VCs at 11 public universities, 10 of whom were appointed during the tenure of the interim government.

Following the changes in top university posts, the Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP alleged that party loyalty and political considerations had been given precedence over merit, impartiality and acceptability in those appointments.

Even during the tenure of the interim government, political links were allegedly a key consideration in appointments to top university posts. An investigation by The Daily Star in December 2024 found that at least 30 of 47 VCs appointed by the interim government had links with pro-BNP or pro-Jamaat teachers’ organisations.

Eighteen of 40 pro-VC or treasurer appointees had similar affiliations.

Former education adviser Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud later acknowledged that teachers with “mild” or “inactive” BNP affiliations had been preferred for some appointments. He said he had sought recommendations from a top BNP leader and excluded AL affiliates from consideration.

During the Awami League government’s tenure, political affiliation was a major criterion in VC appointments. A 2022 Daily Star investigation found that 39 of the 48 public university VCs had held positions in pro-government teachers’ organisations.

Twelve academics associated with the AL-backed Blue Panel at DU had become VCs.

Official platforms were also used for ruling-party programmes. RU observed the AL’s founding anniversary in 2022, while National University celebrated Sheikh Hasina’s birthday in 2021.

In 2019, the then VC of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed, congratulated Hasina on the AL-led alliance’s election victory through a registrar-signed release.

OFFICIAL MESSAGES

Prof Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan, the VC of JU, congratulated Ruhul Kabir Rizvi through the JU Public Relations Office’s Facebook page on August 20 after Rizvi was made acting BNP secretary general.

In the message, Kamrul, former president of JU’s pro-BNP Jatiyatabadi Shikkhak Forum, praised Rizvi’s dedication and hoped the party would grow under his leadership.

When asked, he said he was away from campus when the message was published on Facebook and that he had it removed later after the matter came to his attention.

Kamrul, who was appointed VC on September 5, 2024, said personal greetings should be kept separate from formal university communication and that institutional formalities should be maintained.

Meanwhile, Prof Md Nazmus Sadath, the then VC of GSTU, on August 17 issued messages through the university’s public relations section, congratulating four BNP leaders on their induction into the party’s National Standing Committee.

In the messages, he said the four leaders’ inclusion in the committee would make the BNP stronger and more dynamic.

Sadath, who was made the VC of GSTU on July 19, previously served as general secretary of Khulna University’s Nationalist Teachers’ Association, according to the association’s documents.

He was relieved of the GSTU post on August 25 and appointed the VC of Narayanganj University of Science and Technology.

When contacted by phone, he initially declined to comment and asked this correspondent not to report the conversation.

Asked whether the office of the VC at a public university should be used to convey greetings over internal party appointments, he avoided answering the question. He said, “I am a human being. I have political views.”

Apart from the two, Prof Md Rezaul Karim, the VC of Khulna University, congratulated BNP leader Farhad Halim Donar on becoming a Standing Committee member.

Using the university’s letterhead, Rezaul, former president of a pro-BNP teachers’ organisation, wrote to Farhad on August 16 and congratulated the BNP leader on behalf of the KU’s teachers, officers, employees and students.

Rezaul, who was appointed VC of KU on October 17, 2024, did not respond to phone calls and WhatsApp messages from this correspondent.

‘VIOLATION OF ETHICS’

Terming the VCs’ messages a “violation of institutional ethics”, National Professor Mahbub Ullah said university authorities should have refrained from issuing such messages.

“Political considerations in appointing vice chancellors are nothing new and have existed since the Pakistan period. But such considerations were less explicit in the past,” he pointed out.

“Problem arises when it is done blatantly,” he added.

Md Tanzimuddin Khan, professor of international relations at DU, said the issue involves personal networks and a “structure of flattery” surrounding positions of power.

“If teachers or students belonging to that party commit any wrongdoing, will the VC be able to ensure justice and fairness?” asked Tanzimuddin, also a former UGC member.

“At the very least, we should expect that there will not be blatant partisan behaviour in university appointments, recruitment or elsewhere. However, things are moving in the opposite direction, back to the old path.”