66 univ teachers extend support to Prof ABM Faroque

Sixty-six teachers from different universities of the country yesterday issued a statement extending their support to Prof ABM Faroque, who recently conducted two tests on milk samples of various companies.

Prof Fahmidul Haq of Dhaka University’s mass communication and journalism department issued it on behalf of University Teachers’ Network, a platform for teachers.

“Through mass media and some other sources, we came to know that companies concerned and some government bureaucrats attacked him using offensive language and put pressure on him as soon as the study result was disclosed. Under these circumstances, we too are feeling vulnerable like Prof Faroque,” the statement said.

“Even under these circumstances, he again detected antibiotics in milk samples in his second round of testing and disclosed the result, considering public health,” it added.  

The teachers’ platform said that they would not have known that Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI) has no mechanism to detect antibiotics had the study result not been disclosed.

“The government authorities could have ended the doubt in people’s mind over milk quality by conducting further tests, if they doubt Prof Faroque’s study,” the statement further said.

Teachers and researchers will lose interest towards research and freethinking will diminish, if this trend continues, it added.

They alleged that the university administration is not protecting teachers. Rather the university authority is putting pressure on him in different ways, the teachers added.

They urged the government and university authorities to take proper initiatives to encourage such public health related research.