A deputy registrar without an honors degree has been given charge of the acting registrar post at Rajshahi University (RU). The newly appointed acting registrar is A H M Aslam Hossain, deputy registrar of the university’s academic branch. He joined RU directly as deputy registrar (academic) in 2006. Before that, he had served as assistant registrar at Islamic University. However, criticism has erupted over appointing an official without an honors degree to such an important post. In an office order issued Sunday afternoon by the university administration, academic branch deputy registrar A H M Aslam Hossain was given charge as registrar (acting). The same order relieved Prof Dr Iftekharul Alam Masud of registrar duties.
However, former pro-vice-chancellor (education) Prof Dr Md Farid Uddin Khan expressed outrage in a social media post, saying that while an honors degree was mandatory under the conditions for applying to the deputy registrar post, that condition was relaxed at the time of his appointment, and that both educational qualifications and seniority were violated in appointing him registrar (acting).
In a Facebook post, he wrote: “He has no honors degree. He has work experience as assistant registrar at a madrasah and at Islamic University, though questions had been raised about his employment at the madrasah. It should also be noted that while the application conditions for the deputy registrar post required an honors degree as an educational qualification, that requirement was relaxed for his appointment.”
He further wrote: “I learned from various sources that a deputy registrar is being given the responsibility of university registrar at RU today. I heard there is strong political recommendation behind this. I am not aware of any previous instance of a deputy registrar being appointed to the registrar’s post.”
The recently relieved registrar (acting), Prof Dr Iftekharul Alam Masud, also expressed outrage. He said: “Based on the file I’ve seen during my time in the post, I don’t consider him qualified in any way. I can say publicly that if university responsibility goes to a person like this, the university will fall further behind. Based on his profile, I believe he will become a thorn in the university’s side.”
He said: “Because of my classes and exams, this situation has been extremely difficult for me. I wholeheartedly wanted a qualified person to take this position, but if it goes to someone this incapable, the university will fall behind.”
Under university policy, among directly appointed officials, 10 percent of those who have served more than 20 years as deputy registrar may be promoted to additional registrar. As such, he could have first been promoted to additional registrar and then considered for acting registrar, or the post could have been filled directly through open advertisement.
Asked about the allegations, newly appointed registrar (acting) A H M Aslam Hossain said the claims against him were false, and that he had been appointed acting registrar here in accordance with university rules. However, he claimed that although he does not hold a bachelor’s degree, he does hold a master’s degree.
Asked about the matter, university Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Faridul Islam said: “He has been given responsibility as acting registrar. It was given based on qualifications; there was no exception. When a full registrar is appointed, that will be done according to the required qualifications. But there has been no irregularity in this appointment.”
A H M Aslam Hossain has served for a long time as an official at Islamic University, Kushtia, and at Rajshahi University. He passed the SSC in the science group, first division, from Siroil Government High School in 1981, and the HSC in the science group, second division, from Rajshahi Government College in 1983. He later earned an MA degree, second class, from Rajshahi University’s history department in 1992.
At the start of his career, he served as a branch officer at Islamic University. He later served as assistant registrar, and as deputy registrar starting in 2003. He then joined Rajshahi University directly as deputy registrar (academic) on January 11, 2007. Since joining RU, he has served as head of the academic branch.