JU teacher terminated

The authorities of Jahangirnagar University fired a professor for breaching university code of conduct and suspended a lecturer in connection with sexually harassing a student of the university.

The syndicate, the highest decision-making authority of the university, in a meeting chaired by Vice-Chancellor Prof Farzana Islam made the decisions Saturday night.

Prof Ali Akondo Mamun of Botany department had locked up fellow teachers, students and staff inside his department on March 18 demanding he be included in the admission committee of the department, syndicate sources said.

He had done the same thing twice before, they added.

Soon after the incident, the department had filed a complaint with the VC and sought legal action against him. The complaint was then placed before an emergency syndicate meeting and the authorities had suspended him.

Later, a five-member probe committee led by VC Farzana investigated the incident and found him guilty.

This was, however, just one of the many reasons behind his termination, they said. The university authorities have not yet officially revealed the reasons behind his sacking.

Sources said there were many other allegations against the professor, including beating up of a student on Pahela Baishakh last year.

Prof Mamun refuted the allegations. He said he was sacked because he had raised his voice against corruption and irregularities of the university authorities.

He said he will take legal steps against his sacking.

Mamun claimed that he had submitted an eight-page document to President Abdul Hamid, chancellor of the university, with details on how successive university authorities had indulged in corruption and irregularities.

Meanwhile, AKM Anisuzzaman, a lecturer of Accounting and Information Systems, was suspended after allegation of sexually harassing a female student was found to be true in the preliminary probe.

The students of the department lodged the complaint with the anti-sexual harassment cell of the university in September last year. The cell then investigated the matter, sources said.

During Saturday's syndicate meeting, a committee led by VC Farzana was formed to look into the matter further.

The syndicate asked the body to submit its report by within a month.

JU syndicate member Prof Kamrul Ahsan Titu said, "The syndicate accepted the recommendations of the bodies, and actions were taken against both the accused according to the University Act 1973."

According to the act, the VC leads the committees looking into serious allegations against any teacher, said Prof Kamrul.

AKM Anisuzzaman could not be reached for comments.