Teacher recruitment scams in BUET!

For the first time, serious allegations of irregularities have been raised in the teacher recruitment process at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Until now, BUET was the public university in the country where the recruitment process had never been questioned. However, the current BUET authorities have failed to maintain that reputation this time. The recruitment process at BUET has now been tainted by scandal due to efforts to appoint the spouses and children of those in power through an opaque process by abusing authority.

A few days ago, a senior teacher submitted a written complaint to the University Teachers' Association regarding serious irregularities in the teacher recruitment process across three departments. Subsequently, several general students also wrote letters to the administration seeking clarification on the matter. Following these leads, an investigation by Views Bangladesh has uncovered a painful truth in the history of BUET. Most recently, under intense criticism, the university administration has pressured a newly appointed teacher — who was hired through irregular means — to resign.

A review of BUET's teacher recruitment policy reveals that in any department, students who achieve the best results in their Honours (Bachelor's) degree are given priority for the position of Lecturer. In this regard, students from the most recent batch are given the highest priority. Master's degree results do not carry precedence in this recruitment. Appointments are made solely through a viva (oral examination).

About a month and a half ago, Professor Fakhrul Islam of the Nano Materials and Ceramics department submitted a written complaint to the BUET Teachers' Association regarding this issue. He told Views Bangladesh that his initial expectation was that the BUET authorities themselves would resolve the matter. However, when that did not happen, he filed a formal complaint with the Teachers' Association, hoping the Association would convene a meeting promptly to address it. But the then-president of the Teachers' Association did not call any meeting. He later resubmitted the complaint to the current president, Professor Anisuzzaman Talukdar.

On this matter, BUET Teachers' Association President Professor Anisuzzaman told Samakal that he had heard a complaint had been submitted to the previous president, and he would look into whether a similar complaint had been filed again under his tenure and would examine the issue thoroughly.

Claims of rising vacancies to onboard Dean's son

In the Mechanical Engineering department, a recruitment notice was issued for four Lecturer positions. However, six days after the notice was published, on July 29, the number of posts was increased to five — while retaining the same reference number and date. The authorities explained this as a "technical correction." A senior administrative official at BUET, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "Amending a recruitment notice in a public university and backdating it means concealing the process. This would not be possible without direction from a higher authority."
The top two rank holders of the most recent batch (19th batch) in this department did not apply as they had gone abroad. The four candidates ranked third through sixth all applied. Rafiul Haq, the son of the department's Dean Zahurul Haq, was the seventh-ranked student. It is alleged that the number of posts was increased from four to five specifically to accommodate his appointment. Rafiul Haq has been appointed.

Controversy surrounds hiring of professor's daughter

On July 23 last year, BUET issued a notice for the recruitment of a total of 14 Lecturers across various departments. In the Water Resources Management Engineering department, two posts were advertised, and Mahfuzul Islam — the second-ranked student of the most recent (19th) batch — applied. However, it was found that he was bypassed, and instead Tasmia Ahsan, who was from five batches earlier, was appointed. Tasmia is the daughter of Professor Hasib Mohammad Hasan of the Civil Engineering department. Mahfuzul Islam's CGPA was 3.94, while Tasmia Ahsan's GPA was also the same. Multiple teachers have stated that appointing someone from five batches prior, instead of from the most recent batch, is contrary to BUET's teacher recruitment policy and has never happened before.

Irregular appointment, resignation under pressure

In the Civil Engineering department, six posts were available. All six rank holders — first through sixth — from the 19th batch applied, making a total of eight applicants. However, the sixth-ranked candidate, Trisha Sikdar, was passed over. Sifat Azad Popri, who had a CGPA of 3.73 from the 14th batch, was appointed instead — despite Trisha Sikdar having a CGPA of 3.95. Questions were raised regarding Popri's appointment. She is the wife of Assistant Professor Mashru Hasan of the Civil Engineering department.
Teachers of the department submitted a written complaint to the Vice Chancellor on December 14 regarding this appointment. Subsequently, the higher authorities pressured the newly appointed Popri to voluntarily resign and barred her from participating in academic activities. She has recently submitted her resignation.

Appointments in Nano Materials face scrutiny

Two new Lecturers have been appointed in the Nano Materials and Ceramics Engineering (NMSE) department. One of them is a fresh graduate from the Mechanical Engineering department. The other is from the Materials and Metallurgical Engineering department, and it is rumored that he has a lower CGPA and is the spouse of a teacher. However, the authorities have stated that the department is new and no batch has yet graduated from it, which is why graduates from other departments were appointed. Nevertheless, questions have been raised as to why candidates with teaching experience in other departments or holders of PhD degrees were not appointed instead.

The Vice Chancellor serves as the head of the teacher recruitment committee at BUET by virtue of his office. Members include the Pro Vice Chancellor, the Dean of the concerned department, and the departmental chairman, along with two external experts. Despite repeated attempts to obtain comments from the Vice-Chancellor and the Pro-Vice-Chancellor’s offices regarding this matter, no statement could be obtained from the BUET authorities. However, if the BUET authorities provide any response at a later time, Views Bangladesh will publish it with due importance.