Recruitment at RU: Ex-Jamaat MP’s referral surfaces on pro-VC’s Facebook story

Criticism has surfaced over claims that a former Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker recommended a candidate in the teacher recruitment process at Rajshahi University (RU).

The controversy unfolded after the admit card of Azmira Afrin, an applicant for the post of lecturer in the crop science and technology department, was posted to the Facebook story of RU Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Farid Uddin Khan around 12:30am yesterday.

Afrin is scheduled to sit for the viva voce today.

The admit card carried a handwritten recommendation from Md Latifur Rahman, a former Chapainawabganj-3 MP and nominated candidate of Jamaat-e-Islami.

He is also a life member of the RU Alumni Association.

Although the story was deleted shortly after being uploaded, screenshots of the admit card quickly spread on social media, drawing criticism and raising concerns over political influence and transparency in the recruitment process.

Soon after, Prof Farid Uddin made a Facebook post saying, "I don't know how an applicant's admit card was uploaded to my Facebook story. However, my son was playing games on my phone for a while. It might have been uploaded by mistake during that time."

He said numerous applicants or their relatives contact him daily and send CVs, admit cards, and recommendation letters.

The pro-VC said he currently has about a dozen such recommendations in his office and on his phone but claimed that these do not influence the written or viva examinations in any way.

Contacted, Latifur Rahman said he was unaware that the admit card carried his recommendation. However, he admitted to speaking with the pro-VC over the phone, saying, "The candidate had good academic results, so I asked that her application be considered."

Latifur said viva practices had been questionable in the past. "I merely expressed that such practices should no longer occur."

RU Vice Chancellor Prof Saleh Hasan Naqib said although structural changes had taken place through the July uprising, public mentality remained largely unchanged.

"Hundreds of recommendations still pile up in offices… We're trying to discourage any unethical lobbying or corruption. We are trying to maintain impartiality from our side," he said.