IU teachers place 3-pt demand, seek PM's intervention

A letter containing the demands were sent yesterday to Prime Minister Khelada Zia, who is the chancellor of the university, seeking her intervention to resolve the crisis, sources said.

The demands include appointment a new vice-chancellor from among teachers, removal of Prof Anwarul Karim from the post of acting vice-chancellor and a judicial probe into various alleged corruption by the immediate past VC and some other officials and mass appointments in the university.

Earlier on Wednesday, the IUTA at a meeting unanimously decided not to cooperate with newly appointed acting vice-chancellor Prof Anwarul Karim and to urge the chancellor to intervene.

Since the IUTA decisions, classes and examinations are not held at the university. IUTA sources said the non-cooperation will continue till the acting VC is relieved of his charge and a new VC is appointed.

Prof Anwarul Karim was treasurer before being acting VC. The IUTA decision came after he was made acting VC on Tuesday.

Prof. Karim was appointed treasurer on April 3, 2004.

The sources claimed that Prof. Karim had cooperated with the immediate past VC Prof. Rafiqul Islam in recent 'mass appointments' which created 'problems' for the university.

Besides, teachers aligned with the ruling parties hold him responsible for destroying the image of the alliance government in the university while those belonging to opposition parties also objected to his appointment as acting VC, the sources claimed.

The High Court on Thursday issued a rule on IU authorities to explain within two weeks why recruitment of 89 employees against 53 posts will not be declared illegal.

The HC rule followed a writ challenging legality of the appointments which allegedly violated rules of University Grants commission (UGC). All the appointments were made following a Syndicate decision taken May 18 without approval of the UGC, the sources said.

The mass appointment sparked protest by teachers aligned with opposition political parties.

The university founded in 1980 employed 279 people till 2002. During the tenure of Prof Rafiqul Islam, the university recruited 86 people including teachers, officers and employees against 36 vacant appointed on March 27, 2004 another 89 people against 53 vacant posts on May this year. Most of the appointees were leaders and activists of ruling BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, some of them facing criminal cases, the sources said.

Though the mass appointments evoked large scale protests from different quarters in and outside the campus, those could not satisfy BNP and Jamaat as they demanded at least 200 jobs for party men.

Prof Rafiqul left the campus on May 19 in the face of agitation by ruling party activists for more jobs. Some Kushtia BNP leaders were behind the agitation, the sources claimed.

The university was closed on May 25. It reopened on June 11 after 20 days, but a deadlock is prevailing since then.