Prof CR Abrar set to become education adviser

• Oath-taking ceremony at Bangabhaban tomorrow morning
• Govt transport pool ordered to ready car for new adviser
• CR Abrar a human rights activist and a retired DU professor
• Currently serves as executive director of RMMRU, Odhikar president
• Advisory Council currently has 21 members

The interim government has decided to expand the Advisory Council, with Prof Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar, popularly known as CR Abrar, set to become the education adviser.

Prof Abrar, a retired professor of Dhaka University's (DU) international relations department, will take oath tomorrow (5 March), Chief Adviser's (CA) Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam told a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka today (4 March).

Shafiqul said the oath-taking ceremony of Prof Abrar, a human rights activist, is likely to be held at Bangabhaban at 11am tomorrow.

Environment adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, CA's Deputy Press Secretaries Apurba Jahangir and Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, and Assistant Press Secretary Suchismita Tithi were also present at the briefing.

Sources in the government transport pool said the Cabinet Division has ordered them to prepare a car for the new adviser.

Prof Abrar currently serves as the executive director of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) and the president of Odhikar, a human rights organisation.

He completed his studies at DU, the University of Sussex, and Griffith University in Australia. His works have been featured in volumes published by Westview Press, Blackwell, Earthscan, and Macmillan India.

Meanwhile, the development regarding Prof Abrar came just hours after it was learnt that Prof M Aminul Islam, special assistant to the CA for the education ministry, would take oath as an adviser tomorrow.

Earlier in the day, an official of Aminul's office at the education ministry told The Business Standard that Prof Aminul was asked to be at Bangabhaban at 10:30am tomorrow, where he would likely be sworn in as an adviser at 11am.

Government sources this afternoon said that Aminul, who currently works as the special assistant with the rank of state minister, will not be taking oath as an adviser tomorrow.

Planning Adviser Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud currently serves as the adviser to the Ministry of Education as well.

On 25 February, Md Nahid Islam resigned as the interim government's adviser of information and broadcasting, as well as posts, telecommunications, and information technology.

Afterwards, Adviser Mahfuz Alam took charge of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

CA Prof Muhammad Yunus, in addition to five other ministries, currently oversees the posts, telecommunications, and information technology ministry.

After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in last year's mass uprising, the interim government was formed on 8 August, with Prof Yunus as the CA. Several new advisers were added to the Advisory Council later in different phases.

With the chief adviser included, the council currently has 21 members.