Planning Adviser Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud has revealed that during his tenure as the education adviser under the interim government, teachers with mild or dormant affiliations to the BNP were preferred when appointing vice-chancellors (VCs) at public universities.
Speaking at a discussion titled "The 2025–26 Budget in the Context of LDC Graduation" organised by the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) in Dhaka on Saturday, Prof Wahiduddin reflected on the challenges of ensuring non-partisan appointments in the education sector.
“As a non-partisan government, we could not appoint anyone based on active party loyalty,” he said. “The biggest challenge was that many top university positions were vacant, and I personally did not know who could be trusted with these responsibilities.”
Prof Wahiduddin admitted that he had sought assistance from friends with administrative and political experience. He specifically approached BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, his former classmate, for recommendations. “I asked Fakhrul, setting aside party interests, to suggest honest and competent individuals,” he recalled.
Fakhrul, however, candidly responded that few BNP-affiliated individuals had risen to senior positions over the past 15 years and questioned whether any of them could confidently be recommended as honest or capable.
Despite this, Prof Wahiduddin eventually received a list of potential candidates, though not directly through BNP’s official channels. He noted that during the selection process, there was a clear guideline: no Awami League affiliates would be considered, and preference would only be given to those with mild or inactive BNP associations.
He acknowledged that despite their efforts to maintain neutrality, there was considerable public and media scrutiny regarding the political backgrounds of the appointees. “Almost every university teacher is tagged with some political alignment—white panel, blue panel, or others. Is anyone truly neutral?” he questioned.
Prof Wahiduddin mentioned that within BNP circles, his approach became somewhat of an inside joke: “He never selects our active members, only the mild or inactive ones.”
Reflecting on the historical context, he said that from the Pakistan era to present-day Bangladesh, vice-chancellor appointments have rarely focused on academic credentials such as international publications and citations. “For the first time, these standards are being seriously discussed and applied,” he added.
He expressed a desire to document the steps taken during his tenure, not as self-promotion but as a guideline for future governments to assess or follow.
During his time in office, Prof Wahiduddin oversaw most of the appointments of vice-chancellors and pro-vice-chancellors at public universities.
Notably, an investigation conducted in December last year found that at least 30 out of 47 vice-chancellors, along with 18 pro-vice-chancellors and treasurers out of 40 appointments made during the interim government, had affiliations with pro-BNP and pro-Jamaat teachers` groups.
