DU teacher appointment

CJ laments break from tradition

SC stays DU’s VC selection panel

Chief Justice (CJ) Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday ruled the break from tradition in appointing teachers at Dhaka University. “At present, the authorities concerned are not maintaining the historical tradition of appointing teachers from among students who had ranked first to third in their departments,” he said without mentioning any names.

“These traditional merit-based appointments were made till the tenure of a certain vice-chancellor, but not anymore. This is really alarming,” he added.

The CJ made the observation while hearing an appeal by Dhaka University relating to the appointment of philosophy department teacher Khandker Tofail Ahmed. The univarsity had sought a stay of a High Court (HC) verdict that said Tofail’s appointment was illegal.

However, a three-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by the CJ, upheld the HC verdict and passed no order on the petition filed by Dhaka University. A no order means that the HC verdict will remain in force.

During the hearing on the plea, attorney general Mahbubey Alam told

the court that Tofail did not get the expected marks in the SSC examination. “He could not take class following the HC order that declared his appointment as illegal. Hence, my humble submission is that the Supreme Court should pass an order against the HC order so that Tofail could take classes in the university,” he said.

On July 25, the High Court had declared Tofail’s appointment as illegal following a writ petition filed by an aspiring teacher.

The attorney general said the HC has declared Tofail’s appointment as illegal because his qualification was less than that of the writ petitioner. He, however, said the HC did not direct the DU authorities to appoint the writ petitioner, MH Miraj Sourav, as a replacement for Tofail.

Meanwhile, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday stayed all further proceedings relating to the appointment of Dhaka University (DU) vice-chancellor (VC) by the panel elected by the Senate.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, also asked the High Court (HC) to hear and dispose of within four weeks its rule issued on the legality of the Senate meeting that had formed the panel to elect the VC on July 29.

Earlier, the HC had asked the university authorities to explain the formation of the three-member VC panel for the appointment of the vice-chancellor by the President.

The apex court allowed the current VC, AAMS Arefin Siddique, to continue his duties for four weeks. Siddique is due to retire on August 24.

On July 24, the HC had stayed the process of holding a special general meeting of the DU Senate, scheduled for July 29, to elect a three-member panel for the appointment of its new vice-chancellor. The HC had given the order after hearing a writ petition filed by 16 DU teachers and registered graduates, challenging the legality of the notice issued by the DU registrar to convene the special general meeting of Senate on July 29.

Later, a chamber judge of the SC stayed the High Court ruling—allowing the holding of the Senate meeting—and forwarded the matter to a full bench. The apex court yesterday passed the order during a full-bench hearing of an appeal filed by the DU authorities challenging the HC order that had stayed the Senate meeting.

Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud appeared for the petitioners, while AFM Mesbahuddin argued for DU.

Current VC AAMS Arefin Siddique is a member of the three-man panel formed to select Dhaka University’s next vice-chancellor. His two consecutive terms has neared its end.

A section of students had protested against the DU’s decision, demanding the presence of student representatives in the Senate panel.

As per the Dhaka University Order 1973, a Senate meeting for choosing the vice-chancellor candidates must have 25 registered graduates along with representatives of teachers and students. The Senate should also have at least 99 members. However, the Senate called the special meeting without nominating all the registered graduates.

DU teacher appointment

CJ laments break from tradition

SC stays DUs VC selection panel

Chief Justice (CJ) Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday ruled the break from tradition in appointing teachers at Dhaka University. At present, the authorities concerned are not maintaining the historical tradition of appointing teachers from among students who had ranked first to third in their departments, he said without mentioning any names. These traditional merit-based appointments were made till the tenure of a certain vice-chancellor, but not anymore. This is really alarming, he added. The CJ made the observation while hearing an appeal by Dhaka University relating to the appointment of philosophy department teacher Khandker Tofail Ahmed. The univarsity had sought a stay of a High Court (HC) verdict that said Tofails appointment was illegal. However, a three-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by the CJ, upheld the HC verdict and passed no order on the petition filed by Dhaka University. A no order means that the HC verdict will remain in force. During the hearing on the plea, attorney general Mahbubey Alam told the court that Tofail did not get the expected marks in the SSC examination. He could not take class following the HC order that declared his appointment as illegal. Hence, my humble submission is that the Supreme Court should pass an order against the HC order so that Tofail could take classes in the university, he said. On July 25, the High Court had declared Tofails appointment as illegal following a writ petition filed by an aspiring teacher. The attorney general said the HC has declared Tofails appointment as illegal because his qualification was less than that of the writ petitioner. He, however, said the HC did not direct the DU authorities to appoint the writ petitioner, MH Miraj Sourav, as a replacement for Tofail. Meanwhile, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday stayed all further proceedings relating to the appointment of Dhaka University (DU) vice-chancellor (VC) by the panel elected by the Senate. A three-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, also asked the High Court (HC) to hear and dispose of within four weeks its rule issued on the legality of the Senate meeting that had formed the panel to elect the VC on July 29. Earlier, the HC had asked the university authorities to explain the formation of the three-member VC panel for the appointment of the vice-chancellor by the President. The apex court allowed the current VC, AAMS Arefin Siddique, to continue his duties for four weeks. Siddique is due to retire on August 24. On July 24, the HC had stayed the process of holding a special general meeting of the DU Senate, scheduled for July 29, to elect a three-member panel for the appointment of its new vice-chancellor. The HC had given the order after hearing a writ petition filed by 16 DU teachers and registered graduates, challenging the legality of the notice issued by the DU registrar to convene the special general meeting of Senate on July 29. Later, a chamber judge of the SC stayed the High Court rulingallowing the holding of the Senate meetingand forwarded the matter to a full bench. The apex court yesterday passed the order during a full-bench hearing of an appeal filed by the DU authorities challenging the HC order that had stayed the Senate meeting. Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud appeared for the petitioners, while AFM Mesbahuddin argued for DU. Current VC AAMS Arefin Siddique is a member of the three-man panel formed to select Dhaka Universitys next vice-chancellor. His two consecutive terms has neared its end. A section of students had protested against the DUs decision, demanding the presence of student representatives in the Senate panel. As per the Dhaka University Order 1973, a Senate meeting for choosing the vice-chancellor candidates must have 25 registered graduates along with representatives of teachers and students. The Senate should also have at least 99 members. However, the Senate called the special meeting without nominating all the registered graduates.