Teachers with mild, dormant BNP affiliations were favoured as VCs

Planning Adviser Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud yesterday said during his tenure as education adviser under the interim government, preference was given to teachers with "mild" or "inactive" BNP backgrounds when appointing vice-chancellors at public universities.

He made the remarks at a discussion titled "The 2025–26 Budget in the Context of LDC Graduation," organised by the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) at a hotel in the capital.

Reflecting on his experience in overseeing major university appointments, Prof Wahiduddin said, "Since we are a non-partisan government, we could not appoint anyone based on party loyalty. The greatest challenge was that so many positions were vacant, but I hardly knew personally who could be trusted with these responsibilities. In several cases, I sought help from friends with administrative or political experience."

He explained that he approached Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of BNP and a long-time friend and former classmate, for recommendations of honest and competent individuals for education sector appointments.

"I requested Fakhrul, setting aside all party considerations, to suggest honest and capable people from his circles, since they had previously run the government and had a large pool of members," he said.

According to Prof Wahiduddin, Fakhrul responded candidly, saying, "None of our people have been able to rise to senior positions in the past 15 years. How do I know if any of them are honest or competent?"

Nevertheless, Prof Wahiduddin said he eventually did receive a list from BNP, though not strictly through party channels.

On the selection process, the adviser said, "I made it clear to those assisting with recommendations that no Awami League affiliates would be considered. The acceptable candidates were those with only mild or inactive links to BNP."

He acknowledged that, despite efforts to ensure neutrality, there had been public debate and media scrutiny about the political backgrounds of the appointees.

"Major newspapers have investigated and reported on the political affiliations of appointees -- whether anyone had links with BNP, for example. In reality, almost every university teacher has some tag: white panel, blue panel, or rose. Is anyone truly neutral?" he asked.

He also noted this approach had become a joke within BNP circles, who say, "He (Prof Wahiduddin) never selects our active people, only the mild or inactive ones."

Prof Wahiduddin also reflected on the history of vice-chancellor appointments, saying from the Pakistan era to present-day Bangladesh, the focus was rarely on academic achievements like international publications and citations.

"This is the first time such standards have been seriously discussed and implemented. Earlier, these matters were never part of the conversation; instead, political background was what everyone focused on," he said.

He added, "Before we leave office, I want to document the steps we have taken -- not for our own promotion, but as a record for the next government to follow or to measure any future deviations."

During his time as education adviser, Prof Wahiduddin oversaw most appointments of vice-chancellors and pro-vice-chancellors at public universities.

Notably, during an investigation in December last year, this newspaper found that at least 30 of 47 vice-chancellors, along with 18 pro-vice-chancellors and treasurers out of 40 appointments, had affiliations with pro-BNP and pro-Jamaat teachers' organisations.