Five Premier University officials, including VC and pro-VC, resign
“All of them submitted the resignation letters citing personal reasons,” Registrar Md Iftekhar Iftekhar told TBS. “The letters will soon be sent to the department concerned.”
Five top administrative officials of the private-run Premier University in Chattogram submitted their resignation letters to the university's registrar on Friday (6 December) in the face of protest by students.
The officials include Vice Chancellor Prof Anupam Sen, Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Kazi Shamim Sultana, Treasurer Prof Toufiq Syed, Proctor Ahmed Rajib Chowdhury and Student Welfare and Human Resource Director Khurshidur Rahman.
They submitted their resignation letters to Registrar Md Iftekhar on Friday evening, he confirmed to The Business Standard at night.
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"All of them submitted the resignation letters citing personal reasons," Iftekhar told TBS. "The letters will soon be sent to the department concerned."
Their resignation comes amid continuous protests by the university's students in the last two days, demanding the resignation of the VC. The protesting students locked the university's gate on Thursday (5 December) and announced a complete shutdown.
Earlier on 3 September, TBS published a story titled "How Ctg City Corpn lost control of Premier University to Mohiuddin family", detailing how the family of former Ctg mayor the late ABM Mohiuddin has taken control of the university.
"Despite funding its establishment and providing the land, the Chattogram City Corporation slowly lost control of Premier University to the family of the late mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury due to their political influence," the report reads.
"For 13 years, two city mayors, including Mohiuddin, served as chairmen of the Board of Trustees. However, in 2016, Mohiuddin, despite not being the mayor, used his political power to take over the university with his family," it also stated.
Despite court rulings, his son, former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, and his family have used the university as a personal asset for over seven years, the report said, quoting sources.
The report further pointed out that 84-year-old Professor Anupam Sen has served as the university's vice-chancellor for nearly 16 years, exceeding the 75-year age limit for private university vice-chancellors.
He is also a member of the university's board of trustees, which also includes leaders of the ousted Awami League and representatives from the S Alam Group.
