Yet another unelected VC set to take DU helm

Dhaka University is all set to get another unelected vice chancellor for the third consecutive term, as the current VC has resigned without calling a Senate session to appoint a new one.

Usually, after being appointed by the president, the VC calls a Senate session to validate the appointment or to appoint another.

According to the DU Order, 1973, the principal executive officer (VC) of the university must be appointed by the chancellor from a panel of three elected teachers or officials.

If that is not possible, the sitting VC is required to call a Senate session to elect the panel.

However, outgoing VC Prof Niaz Ahmed Khan did not initiate such a session after taking office in August 2024. He was appointed on a temporary basis when the post fell vacant following the July uprising.

On February 22, Prof Niaz submitted his resignation to the chancellor through the education minister.

Officials said the ministry will now move to appoint a new VC.

They said there are two provisions for appointing a VC. Clause 11(1) of the 1973 Order states that the VC shall be appointed by the chancellor for four years from a panel of three persons nominated by the Senate.

Clause 11(2) states that if a temporary vacancy occurs due to leave, illness, resignation or any other reason, the chancellor may make arrangements to carry out the duties of the office as he deems fit.

Prof Niaz was appointed under Clause 11(2), and since he resigned, the next appointment is also likely to follow the same provision, officials said.

Pro-VC (Administration) Sayema Haque Bidisha said there is little possibility of following the electoral procedure for appointing the next VC at this stage.

“The fundamental condition before arranging the electoral procedure is to call a Senate session,” she said, adding that once the new VC assumes office, the electoral process can be initiated through a Senate meeting.

The Senate, one of the university’s prime decision-making bodies, has 104 members across 11 categories. However, five categories comprising 60 members are currently vacant, according to university officials.

Despite serving for over a year and a half, Prof Niaz did not call a senate session, although the DU Ordinance requires at least one Senate session each year. According to the registrar, the last Senate session was held in the last week of June 2024.

In October 2023, Prof ASM Maksud Kamal was also appointed under Clause 11(2) by the then Awami League government, even though there was no emergency or temporary vacancy at the time.

The then VC Prof Akhteruzzaman was still in office, and his tenure was set to end in November.

Prof Akhteruzzaman himself had been appointed in September 2017 temporarily amid tensions between the then VC AAMS Arefin Siddique and a faction of pro-AL teachers.

Arefin had also been appointed under the temporary provision and served about four years without being elected, followed by another four years after being elected. In 2017, when he sought another term, the government appointed Akhteruzzaman instead.

Akhteruzzaman also served around two years without being elected before calling a senate session in November 2019.

The senate then elected a panel comprising Akhteruzzaman, the then Pro-VC Muhammad Samad, and Maksud Kamal. The government subsequently reappointed Akhteruzzaman as the elected VC.

Dr Kamrul Hassan Mamun, a professor in the university’s Physics department, said violating the ordinance has become a long-standing practice of successive governments.

“The vice chancellor of Dhaka University holds unparalleled centralised power, which makes it easy for the government to control the university through one individual,” he said, describing the government’s approach as a “fascist mindset”.

Mamun said he opposes all existing methods of selecting a VC and suggested forming an international search committee comprising global intellectuals.

In May last year, the previous government formed a search committee to recommend vice chancellors, pro-VCs and treasurers for public universities.

The committee was headed by then Education Adviser Prof CR Abrar and included University Grants Commission members Prof Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan and Prof Md Saidur Rahman, Rajshahi University VC Prof Saleh Hasan Naqib, and BRAC University Prof Firdous Azim.

A committee member, requesting anonymity, told The Daily Star that since the nominated names for the VC post would not come through a Senate vote, the search committee has the legitimate authority to select the nominees.

However, the committee has not yet received any directive from the government or the relevant ministry to begin the search process, said the committee member.

Prof Emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury expressed frustration in this regard, saying the appointment of unelected vice chancellors has been a long-standing practice at Dhaka University.

“We have been observing this for the last forty years. Most vice chancellors have been appointed in this way,” he said.

“They always describe it as an emergency,” he added.