Highlights
- Education Minister A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon addressed questions about politically influenced vice-chancellor appointments.
- He said political involvement should not disqualify someone from becoming a university VC.
- The announcement was made during a briefing at the Ministry of Education (Bangladesh).
- The minister also announced new appointments for the University Grants Commission (Bangladesh) chairman and several university vice-chancellors.
Minister Responds to Journalists’ Questions
Education Minister A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon responded to journalists’ questions about allegations that vice-chancellors are being appointed based on political considerations.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Ministry of Education (Bangladesh) on Monday (16 March), the minister defended the appointment process.
He said:
“একজন লোকের রাজনীতি করা কি অপরাধ? এটি কি তাদের ডিসকোয়ালিফিকেশন? এটা ডিসকোয়ালিফিকেশন নয়। প্রত্যেকটি ভিসির বিষয়ে চেক করেছি, সাইটেশন, কোটেশন, গুগল সার্চ, পিএইচডি, পোস্ট ডক, এমফিল, সব দেখে ক্যাটাগরি করে যারা ভালো পারফরম্যান্স করেছে, তাদের দায়িত্ব দেওয়া হয়েছে।”
Translation: “Is it a crime for someone to do politics? Is it a disqualification? It is not a disqualification. We checked every VC’s profile—citations, quotations, Google search results, PhD, post-doc, MPhil—and after categorizing them, those with the best performance were given responsibilities.”
Announcement of New Appointments
During the same briefing, Education Minister announced the names of the new chairman of the University Grants Commission (Bangladesh) and several vice-chancellors of public universities.
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Academic Qualifications Given Priority
The minister also said that academic qualifications were the most important factor in the selection process.
He mentioned that A B M Obaidul Islam, a professor at University of Dhaka, was among the highest performers based on academic evaluation.
He added:
“আপনারা চাইলে এসব দেখাতে পারব। আমার কাছে এসব রয়েছে। ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের অধ্যাপক ড. এ বি এম ওবায়দুল ইসলাম হায়েস্ট পারফরমার। আমরা শিক্ষাগত যোগ্যতাকে সবচেয়ে বেশি প্রাধান্য দিয়েছি। রাজনীতি করাটা শিক্ষকদের ব্যক্তিগত ইচ্ছা। কে রাজনীতি করবে কি করবে না, এটা তার ব্যক্তিগত ব্যাপার। কেউ কাউকে রাজনীতিতে ম্যানডেটরি করতে পারবে না।”
Translation: “If you want, I can show you all these documents. I have them with me. Dhaka University professor Dr. A B M Obaidul Islam is a high performer. We have given the highest priority to academic qualifications. Doing politics is a teacher’s personal choice. Whether someone will do politics or not is their personal matter. No one can make politics mandatory for anyone.”
Source: The Daily Campus
