Chittagong University’s recent past vice chancellor, Professor Dr Shireen Akhter, faces accusations of leaving the institution in a state of disarray.
During her four-year tenure, the syndicate – a key decision-making body, was never fully staffed, raising concerns about transparency and accountability.

Sources at Chittagong University (CU) syndicate said that Shireen Akhter regularly conducted meetings with an incomplete syndicate, filling only around half of the 17 syndicate posts. Critics allege this was a deliberate tactic to exert more control over decision-making.

A turning point came on 6 March 2023, in response to a teachers’ movement. Teacher representatives were elected to four syndicate positions. These elected members allegedly refused to endorse irregular appointments proposed by the Shireen Akhter administration.

Mohammad Ali, a newly elected syndicate member, told the Daily Sun, “We gave any note of dissent to any illegal appointments.” This reportedly curbed Shireen’s ability to push through questionable decisions in the remaining eight months of her term.
Despite the roadblocks, Shireen Akhter reportedly attempted to make last-minute irregular appointments before her term ended.

However, on 3 January this year, the University Grants Commission (UGC) intervened. The commission suspended the teacher recruitment processes in Bengali and Law departments, citing irregularities in following Statute-9.

Dr Shireen’s inability to fill all syndicate posts through elections has created a leadership vacuum. Crucial positions like dean, provost, and academic council representative remain vacant.
Concerned teachers allege that Shireen was pressured by beneficiaries to engage in irregular activities.

Some of them claim that if she was not involved in corruption herself, she could have cleared her name by initiating investigations. However, Shireen reportedly did not pursue this course of action.
Dr Shireen Akhter could not be reached even after several calls on her mobile phone for comments regarding the allegations.

In this regard, the newly appointed vice-chancellor of the university, Professor Dr Abu Taher, told the Daily Sun, “I have taken charge here very recently. No one is my personal enemy. I will work with everyone. The University Grants Commission has formed an inquiry committee regarding various irregularities that have occurred in the past. After the investigation, the government will take appropriate action.”

Asked if any action will be taken against those who were appointed through irregularities earlier, he said, “We will take whatever action the government authorities ask us to take after the investigation.”
Irregularities in recruitment in CU

Shireen allegedly made irregular recruitments as she wished. In the case of recruitment of teachers, it is mandatory to publish a notification in the newspaper in the light of the demand of the departmental planning committee subject to vacancies, but the former CU VC did not care about the rules, said teachers concerned.

Sources said there are vacant posts of teachers in some departments including the Bangladesh Studies, but there were no recruitment as per the demand of the departmental planning committee during the time of the former vice-chancellor. However, even though there was no demand from the planning committee, Dr Shireen recruited people in some departments arbitrarily.

According to sources, Dr Shireen Akhter’s administration appointed at least 500 teachers, officials, and employees in the last four years. She appointed 37 people on her last day in the chair of the vice-chancellor. There are several allegations against the immediate past vice-chancellor of CU, including making illegal financial transactions for recruitment.

A CU teacher told the Daily Sun that the recruitment board was supposed to be formed by including expert members of the respective departments, but the former vice-chancellor did not care for the rules. She placed Danesh Miah of the Forestry Department on the Psychology Department’s selection board. In this way, in various departments, the selection board violated the rules and kept the teachers of different departments as experts despite not being related.

Several audio clips of the university administration’s involvement in illegal transactions for recruitments have gone viral. Five leaked phone conversations revealed lobbying in the controversial appointment of teachers in the Persian Language and Literature Department.

In one of the conversations, an employee of the university was heard saying he would take Tk16 lakh for recruiting a teacher, Tk12 lakh for a third class employee and Tk8 lakh for a fourth class employee. In two phone conversations leaked on 6 August 2022, it was heard that Manik Chandra Das, a low-level assistant employee, identified himself as a section officer and received Tk8.20 lakh from three job seekers.

On condition of anonymity, a CU teacher told the Daily Sun that in the case of bribery, there is a difference in the amount between candidates from Chattogram and outside it. Job seekers from Chattogram have to spend a little less than others. The then personal assistant of the vice-chancellor is involved in making transactions with job seekers.

Abdul Hoque, general secretary of Chittagong University Teachers Association, told the Daily Sun that Dr Shireen Akhter never made the syndicate whole during his tenure.
He said, “She [Shireen] legitimised all the irregularities with the syndicate she controlled. She could not prove herself innocent regarding the allegations of corruption and irregularities raised against her.
“If she was not involved in corruption, she would have taken actions against the accused. By not taking actions against them, she made it clear that she was involved.”

However, several teachers of the university said that Dr Shireen Akhter was forced into various irregularities. They said that they knew the former vice-chancellor for a long time, and she was not as greedy as the corruption allegations against her make it seem. Beneficiaries around her have fulfilled their own interests by forcing her.

“The VC has completed her duties and left, but the corrupt officials who remain will do more damage to the university. So, action should be taken against them,” one of the teachers said.
UGC takes steps to halt corruption

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has formed a committee to investigate several allegations of corruption including the financial irregularities of the university. UGC member Prof Biswajit Chanda convened it.

Rezaul Karim Howladar, director of Finance and Accounts Department (Additional Duties) of the commission, was made member and Deputy Director of Public University Management Department, Md Golam Dastgir, was made member secretary.

A UGC letter signed by Mohammad Jaminur Rahman on 31 January this year said that the university’s response to the commission regarding the expenditure of about Tk50 lakh on the inauguration ceremony of the academic building of the university’s Marine Sciences and Fisheries Faculty and the appointment of teachers of Bengali and Law departments was not satisfactory.

The aforementioned committee was formed to investigate these and other financial irregularities and corruption.

Professor Biswajit Chanda told the Daily Sun, “I was given the responsibility of investigating several irregularities of the former vice-chancellor of Chittagong University when they came to the commission’s view. We are conducting preliminary investigations.

“We will submit a report to the commission after conducting a proper investigation with the university teachers and officials concerned. Later, the government authorities concerned will take appropriate measures against irregularities and corruption.”