e_Paper, Wednesday, August 30, 2017

News
WEDNESDAY,
7
AUGUST 30, 2017
DT
‘Allegations of favouritism against me
are unfortunate’
Professor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique became the 27th vice-chancellor of Dhaka University in
2009. He was the first person who completed a full tenure as an unelected VC in the 96-year
history of the university. President Abdul Hamid appointed Prof Arefin for four years from a panel
of three candidates elected by the DU Senate on August 24, 2013. His tenure just expired and is
up for re-election in October. Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune’s Asif Showkat Kallol and Fahim
Reza Shovon, he talks about the current controversies surrounding him and his tenure.
INTERVIEW
There have been allegations
against you that you have
appointed loyalists as lecturers
and professors. What is your
reaction to this?
Dhaka University is the only public
university in Bangladesh where the
pro-VC (education) appoints lecturers,
assistant professors and equivalent
officials and the pro-VC (administration)
appoints section officers
and other equivalent officials.
The office of the vice-chancellor
is not responsible for the appointments.
These allegations against
the office of the vice-chancellor are
unfortunate.
According to rules and regulations
stipulated by the Dhaka
University Ordinance 1973, the
recommendations are made by the
statutory body for any recruitment
of teachers during the syndicate
meetings.
I must approve these unanimous
recommendations as the
chair of the syndicate.
Some reports published in a local
newspaper have levied unfair
allegations against me and that is
a glaring example of yellow journalism.
The reports said the quality
of some of the appointed teachers
were not up to par and were
published during the time of the
vice-chancellor panel election to
affect the election results. Some
teachers were definitely involved
in spreading this misinformation.
The media can publish whatever
it wants but unfortunately a lack
of professionalism and bias these
days is responsible for how newspapers
have lost their objectivity.
The numbers given by the
newspaper report were false as it
claimed that 907 teachers were
recruited. The authority did not
recruit non-deserving teachers for
the position. Their merit was the
first priority.
Another allegation that was levied
against the authorities was that
we recruited graduates as lecturers
instead of postgraduates. We
recruited the graduates in the engineering
affiliated department as
engineering universities of Bangladesh
including Buet can recruit
graduates. They can complete their
post-graduation, PhD after being
appointed.
We wanted to hire lecturers with
Master’s degrees in engineering for
applied chemistry and chemical engineering
as that is the rule of Dhaka
University. But after repeated
advertisements, nobody with that
requirement applied for the job. So,
we were bound to recruit meritorious
students from Buet. This is a
valid rule in the sub-continent.
The paper also alleged that we
If regular students
come under the
leadership of
the students’
organisations
then Ducsu can
be activated again
easily. We have to
understand why
Ducsu was closed in
the first place
recruited lecturers who did not
meet the required score in their SSC
and HSC exams of 4.25 GPA. This
rule was decided by the syndicate.
The selection committee recommended
some meritorious students
who secured 1st or 2nd position in
their respective departments who
had a 4.15 or 4.10 in SSC or HSC.
Those who make criteria can
also change those criteria. All aspects
of any topic must be presented
by a newspaper. It is then up to
the reader to decide what is right
and what is wrong.
Were you able to ensure a levelplaying
field for all the political
student organisations during your
tenure?
There has always been a level-playing
field for student organisations
at Dhaka University. They have
always been able to hold programmes,
protests etc.
Basically, for the last eight
and a half years, we have tried to
make sure violence does not erupt
on campus because of the programmes
organised by some organisations.
See, when student organisations
come under the stewardship of some
irregular students, that is when the
trouble begins. When regular students
have control, they bring dynamism
to the organisations.
During my tenure, there was not
a day lost in the academic calendar.
What have you done to reinstate
Dhaka University Central Students’
Union (Ducsu) that has been
inactive for the past 27 years?
If regular students come under the
leadership of the students’ organisations
then Ducsu can be activated
again easily.
We have to understand why
Ducsu was closed in the first place.
It was because of murders and sabotage
on campus. We do not want
that situation again. If the student
organisations consolidate their leadership,
then we can reinstate Ducsu.
The university administration
and politicians should reach
a consensus on regular students
joining politics. Our goal is to activate
Ducsu again. We want regular
students to take leadership roles
and contribute to national politics
through the Ducsu election.
Can the university authorities
free the men’s halls from political
influence?
The authorities at the girls’ halls
strictly adhere to the rules and they
are better managed.
The boys, however, tend to be
outside their dorms longer even
after curfew and we are trying to
get the authorities to manage them
better.
We have instructed the hall authorities
to stick to the rules and regulations
and run the halls properly.
Teacher-student goodwill is
a tradition at the university. If a
provost behaves inappropriately
with a student at the hall, we will
take measures against them when
a complaint is filed.
RAJIB DHAR
Why were the girls at Sufia Kamal
Hall being morally policed by a
dress code recently?
The Sufia Kamal Hall provost told
me that the dress code notice was
distorted by people who made it
go viral online. It may have been a
case of trying to get the hall authority
into trouble.
During the Ducsu VC panel election
on July 29, there was an altercation
between DU students and a
Jagannath University teacher
outside the Senate building. Video
footage showed the JnU teacher
assaulting a DU student. Why was
he even allowed to be there during
the elections?
Anyone can visit the campus. Perhaps
the Jagannath University
teacher was a former student. No
one has yet been proven guilty of
the incident.
While the world moves away from
print media, why are you setting
up a printing and publication
studies department?
The publication industry is growing
in Bangladesh and a department
like this will help build essential
skills for those joining the
printing industry after graduation.
Our country did not have the
necessary skills for this industry. It
was all learned on the job. This is
why the Academic Council of Dhaka
University has decided to open
the department based on these
concerns. One also has the opportunities
to study online and read
e-books for printing and publication
studies.
Can Dhaka University ever regain
the reputation for academic
excellence as the Oxford of the
East?
Our first vice-chancellor Sir Philip
J Hartog modelled the university’s
rules and regulations after Oxford
in the UK. The university had a
tutorial system which was replaced
by the semester system. This
I believe is the reason why we
have lost some of the academic
excellence. We are not satisfied
by the quality of education as it
stands today and hope to regain
the reputation of being the Oxford
of the East again. •