The sudden and inexplicable removal of Bangladesh’s Barisal University Vice-Chancellor appears to be an outcome of nepotism and political manipulation involving a small section of the students’ community and two other administrators of the institution in question.
Eight months after she was appointed vice-chancellor of Barisal University, Suchita Sharmin was removed from the position on May 13, sparking a controversy that the Mohammad Yunus-led interim authority took a “hurried” decision to remove the only woman vice-chancellor in the country. Bangladesh has 55 government and state-aided universities, where all, barring Barisal University, are headed by male vice-chancellors.
In her place, the Yunus government appointed Professor Toufiq Alam of Rajshahi University’s Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Department as an interim Vice-Chancellor.
Informed sources in Bangladesh Higher Education Ministry told Northeast News that the immediate reason behind Sharmin’s removal stemmed from “ambitions” of the Pro Vice-Chancellor Golam Rabbani, Treasurer Mamunur Rashid and English Department Professor Mohammad Mohsinuddin. While Rabbani wanted to push out Sharmin to assume her role, Rashid’s aim was to become Pro Vice Chancellor.
On his part, Professor Mohsinuddin, who is alleged to have some pending corruption cases against him, wanted to elevate himself as the Treasurer.
In order to deflect attention from the removal of only Sharmin, the Yunus-led interim authority threw out Rabbani and Rashid (vide orders signed on May 13) to make the move appear to be “even-handed”. Meanwhile, Sharmin, who has a long track record in the field of Development Studies, on May 14 rejoined Dhaka University where she was a professor in the Department of Development Studies. She joined as Barisal University VC on deputation.
Speaking to Northeast News, a Barisal University Syndicate member, Professor Ashraful Karim, said, “A Syndicate meeting held at the university guest house on May 3 took into account four demands that a minority of agitating students had made. The demand included the removal of the registrar and some other senior staff members. This was indeed inexplicable and mysterious.”
Documents in the possession of Northeast News show that Sharmin, Rabbani and Rashid joined their respective positions at Barisal University following the violent students’ agitation that led to the toppling of the Sheikh Hasina regime and massive changes in the higher education sector.
While Sharmin joined Barisal University as Vice-Chancellor on September 23, 2024 – a month-and-a-half after Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka for New Delhi – Rabbani and Rashid joined as Pro Vice-Chancellor and Registrar on October 30 and December 19, 2024, respectively.
“Soon after Rabbani and Rashid joined, controversies began to erupt, with Sharmin the target of unjustified attacks. Sharmin took some crucial decisions, including widespread construction work for a projected expenditure of BDT 1,000 crore,” Professor Karim, a Professor of Bengali at the Shah Jalal Institute of Science and Technology, said.
Professor Karim added, “A feasibility study for BDT 3.5 crore is already underway. There is preliminary information to suggest that the Rabbani-Rashid-Mohsinuddin trio sought to resort to corrupt practices related to construction work.”
Towards this end, Rabbani and Rashid are alleged to have enlisted the support of no more than 40-50 students owing allegiance to the Islami Chhatra Shibir (Jamaat-e-Islami’s students wing) and the BNP, to target Sharmin. “These students appear to have been instigated against Sharmin,” Barisal University sources said, adding that the institution has about 9,300 students and 160 faculty members.
The sources said that Rabbani and Rashid’s aim was to “occupy” the positions of Vice-Chancellor and Pro Vice-Chancellor, and this was quite evident in the manner in which they targeted Sharmin in at least two previous Syndicate meetings. Their individual insecurities and factional politics motivated them to “conspire” against Sharmin.
