Desk Report,
“Dear Dean, I would like to request you to take Tajbiul, he has a relationship with the Prime Minister.”
An investigation has revealed that former Vice Chancellor Farid Uddin interfered in the recruitment of teachers in the Petroleum and Mining Engineering (PME) department of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet. Based on the investigation report, the current administration of the university issued a show cause notice on August 4 to a lecturer who was appointed on the ‘recommendation’ of the former Vice Chancellor.
“Dear Dean, I would like to request you to take Tajbiul, he has a relationship with the Prime Minister.”
The notice alleges that the lecturer, Md. Tajbiul Islam, applied despite not meeting the minimum eligibility criteria. The university administration has asked him to respond immediately as to why he should not be dismissed. The show cause notice further states, ‘It has been proven that the then Vice Chancellor Professor Farid Uddin Ahmed exerted direct influence on the board members regarding your appointment. He influenced the board members through SMS and pressured them to appoint you over a qualified candidate, which has been mentioned with evidence in the investigation report.’
Regarding the allegation, lecturer Tajbiul Islam told Prothom Alo, ‘I applied for the job after receiving an online notification. Then I was called for an examination. At that time, the authorities appointed me, so I joined. Now it was the responsibility of the authorities to sort out whether I had the qualifications or not.’
It has been learned that Md. Tajbiul Islam was appointed as a lecturer in the Petroleum and Mining Engineering (PME) Department when former Vice-Chancellor Farid Uddin Ahmed was in charge. He joined the department on June 10 last year. At that time, there was a wide discussion among the teachers and students of the department as he did not meet the conditions of appointment. After the fall of the Awami League government on August 5 last year, the teachers and students of the PME department alleged irregularities in the appointment of lecturer Tajbiul. In view of this, the administration formed an investigation committee on October 3 last year. Based on the investigation committee’s report, a show cause notice has been issued to Tajbiul.
According to university administration sources, the chairman of the lecturer appointment board was former associate vice-chancellor Md. Kabir Hossain. The members of that board were Mohammad Reza Selim, dean of the university’s Faculty of Applied Science and Technology, and M Farhad Hawlader, then head of the PME department. The then vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, ASM Maksud Kamal, and professor of the geology department of the same university, Badrul Imam, were also online on that day’s board. According to the investigation report and committee members, before the selection in 2024, former vice-chancellor Farid Uddin Ahmed sent a message in English on WhatsApp to board member Mohammad Reza Selim. Which, translated into Bengali, reads, ‘Dear Dean, Sushmita Sarkar (another candidate) was actively involved in the movement against the VC in 2022. I, Md., who passed out from IIT Shibpur, I will request you to take Tajbiul Islam. He has a relationship with the Honorable Prime Minister.’
On the same day, in another message sent in Bengali to the same person, Farid Uddin wrote, ‘Sushmita was involved in the movement. The pictures above are proof of that. It would be better to take the candidate below instead of taking her.’ The former vice-chancellor sent Tajbiul’s information below the message. He also sent the same message to another member of the board, M. Farhad Howlader.
The investigation report further revealed that since Tajbiul’s appointment conditions were not met, Mohammad Reza Selim and M. Farhad Howlader contacted the then vice-chancellor and associate vice-chancellor before the syndicate meeting to reconsider the matter. But the authorities did not take the matter into consideration.
At the same time, since Tajbiul’s bachelor’s degree grade was from an Indian institution, it did not meet the grading system of Bangladesh when converted to the grading system for appointment. But the president of the appointment board and the then associate vice-chancellor, M. Kabir Hossain, did not consider it necessary to convert it to the grading system of Bangladesh. Rather, the board recommended Tajbiul’s appointment under his leadership.
Mohammad Reza Selim and M Farhad Howlader admitted to Prothom Alo that the VC had put pressure on them. M Farhad Howlader told Prothom Alo, “The VC gave a message. Not only to me, but to all the board members. He gave importance to the VC’s words for the good of the department.” Otherwise, he feared that he would have to face consequences later.
In this regard, Abul Mukit Mohammad Mokaddes, convener of the investigation committee, told Prothom Alo, “It has been proven that former VC Farid Ahmed put pressure on the members of the recruitment board. We have received such information and evidence. He cannot do that as a VC without being a member of the recruitment board.”
However, regarding the allegations of the former VC’s recommendation, lecturer Tajbiul Islam said, “I have never spoken to the former VC. I do not know why he recommended me. Apart from this, I don’t know why he gave a reference to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Because, I have no relationship with her (Sheikh Hasina).’
When I called former Vice Chancellor Farid Uddin Ahmed several times to inquire about the complaint, his number was disconnected. Despite trying various means including WhatsApp in the last two days, his statement could not be reached.
Regarding the complaint, former Vice Chancellor Md. Kabir Hossain told Prothom Alo, ‘I was not given the responsibility of the selection of the recruitment board (according to the rules, it is the responsibility of the Vice Chancellor). I was only told to announce the date of the recruitment board. If I wrote it down, the Vice Chancellor would approve it. Regarding Tajbiul, I only saw the documents that came with his papers and based on the recommendations of the experts of the recruitment board, the fee was
