Student got first-class job before graduation: RU's ICT centre clarifies controversial appointment

Rajshahi University (RU) has come under scrutiny after appointing an undergraduate student as an assistant programmer at its ICT Centre before he had officially completed his honours examinations.

In a press release today (6 March), the university's ICT Centre Director Professor Md Saiful Islam provided an explanation in this regard.

He stated, "I assumed the position of centre's director on 1 November 2024. Soon after joining, I realised the urgent need for a skilled computer programmer at the centre.

"When I informed the vice-chancellor, he verbally instructed me to find and appoint a highly competent programmer on a temporary basis."

Saiful further said following the directive, on 18 November 2024, Momen Khondoker Opi, a student of the CSE department, was appointed as an assistant programmer on a temporary basis.

"At the time of his appointment, his undergraduate results had not been officially published, so he applied under the status of 'appeared.' His results were published a few weeks after his appointment," he added.

The director also noted that Opi was one of the top programmers in the university and had previous experience working with private software development firms.

Earlier, according to an office order signed by RU's acting registrar on 18 November last year, Opi was temporarily appointed on an ad-hoc basis for six months, with a salary scale of Tk22,000-Tk53,060.

However, at the time of his appointment, he only had his Higher Secondary Certificate, raising questions about the legality of the hiring process.

According to sources, Opi's honours results were published on 12 December that year, almost a month after his appointment.

He was a student of the 2018-19 session in the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department and obtained a CGPA of 3.20 in his final examinations.

Concerns over recruitment process

Several university faculty members and officials have criticised the appointment, arguing that under existing national employment laws, a candidate must graduate before being eligible for a first-class job.

RU's Vice-Chancellor Saleh Hasan Naqib told The Business Standard that he had entrusted the matter to the ICT Centre's director.

He assured that he would look into the issue after discussions with relevant officials.

Meanwhile, RU's Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Farid Uddin Khan acknowledged that appointing a student without a completed degree violates standard recruitment rules.

He explained that ad-hoc recruitment is generally based on departmental recommendations, but proper verification of qualifications should have been ensured before finalising the appointment.

Professor Abdullah Al Mamun, a faculty member of RU's Mass Communication and Journalism department, raised questions about the urgency and necessity of hiring an undergraduate student in an ad-hoc process, especially when such temporary recruitment had been discontinued for nearly a decade.