Five Dhaka University Assistant Proctors Resign Amid Allegation of Administration Request

Five assistant proctors of Dhaka University have submitted resignation letters from their posts. All of them were appointed to these positions during the interim government period that followed the July mass uprising.

It has been alleged that they took the decision because the university administration 'requested' them to step down.

The university's current proctor, Associate Professor Md Israfil Ratan, confirmed at noon on Thursday (12 November) that he had received a total of five resignation letters, of which two were submitted on Wednesday and the remaining three on Thursday.

The five teachers who resigned are Associate Professor Muhammad Rafikul Islam of the Arabic Department, Lecturer Atia Sanjida Sharmi of the Zoology Department, Associate Professor Muhammad Mahbub Kaysar of the Sociology Department, Associate Professor Sharmin Kabir of the Institute of Education and Research, and Assistant Professor Jahangir Alam of the Management Information Systems (MIS) Department.

Dhaka University currently has a total of 21 assistant proctors in office. The five who resigned were part of that team.

One of the resigning teachers, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged that he was called in and specially requested to resign, and that he agreed to step aside after being told it would benefit the administration.

However, another teacher said he left the responsibility entirely for personal reasons and to focus more on academic activities. In other words, differing accounts have emerged among the teachers themselves about the reasons for the resignations.

Commenting on the overall situation, Proctor Md Israfil Ratan said that because people in the country are highly politically conscious, every incident is viewed from a political angle. But only the teachers concerned can properly say why they resigned, he remarked.

At the same time, he directly denied that the administration had applied any kind of pressure.