DU forms committee to examine proposed ban on Awami League-backed teachers

The University of Dhaka (DU) has formed a fact-finding committee to examine a proposed ban on the political activities of Awami League-backed Bue Panel teachers.

The decision was made at a Syndicate meeting on Tuesday, a member of the university's highest decision-making body told Daily Waadaa.

The four-member committee is headed by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. ABM Obaidul Islam. Other members are Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Prof. Dr. Mohammed Almujaddade Alfasane, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Prof. Dr. Abdus Salam, and Prof. Dr. Morshed Hasan Khan, convener of the pro-BNP White Panel.

According to the source, the committee will examine a proposal to ban all political activities of the Blue Panel over its alleged role during the July Uprising, including accusations of supporting fascism and suppressing students and dissenting faculty members on campus over the past 17 years.

The source said the proposed measures include prohibiting Blue Panel teachers from organizing political programs on the DU campus. It also said individual disciplinary or legal action may be pursued against those found to have been involved in criminal activities during the past 17 years.

Earlier on Monday, a group of teachers under the banner of the Anti-Fascism Teachers Association submitted a memorandum to the Vice-Chancellor demanding a ban on the Blue Panel's political activities.

The group also called for legal action against 231 Blue Panel teachers, including former Vice-Chancellors Prof. Dr. Maksud Kamal and Prof. Dr. Akhtaruzzaman, former Pro-Vice-Chancellors Prof. Dr. Abdus Samad and Prof. Dr. Sithes Chandra Bachar, and former Proctor Prof. Dr. A. K. M. Golam Rabbani.