DU dean calls admission without tests ‘within rules’, colleagues deny

Dhaka University’s business faculty dean Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam at a media conference on Tuesday claimed that students who completed graduation and post graduation from the university can be enrolled in the evening programmes without any written exam.

The dean also said that those students only have to sit for viva voce and there were no admission circular needed for such admission as per a decision allegedly made by the Chairman’s Committee.

The statement was made following a recent report of Prothom Alo that unveiled that 34 former and current leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) got admission into the Masters of Tax Management Programme under the Banking and Insurance Department.

The admissions were made to maintain the BCL leaders’ student status after the DUCSU (Dhaka University Central Students’ Union) elections had been announced on 11 February.

The dean, however, could not provide the media any copy of such rules in the press conference organised at the Habibulla Bahar Conference Hall of business faculty.

Although he claimed the decision was made at a meeting of “Chairman’s Committee”, he could not either mention the date of the meeting in the press briefing.

Denying the existence of any such decision, a number of former and current chairmen of business faculty told Prothom Alo, all the students have to go through written and viva tests to get admission in evening courses.

The Chairman’s Committee has no right to change the admission rule, they said.

Any changes in admission rule must be approved by academic council and the syndicate of the university, they added.

Eight of the students, who evaded the written exams, contested for the posts of secretary and members of the central students union, and seven won. Two contested for the posts of VP in two hall unions. One contestant won in the polls held on 11 March after a 28-year hiatus.

After the Prothom Alo report was published, the business faculty dean organised the press conference.

He said many students of the faculty join in various jobs before obtaining the Master degree.

Chairman’s Committee made a decision to give the students an opportunity to obtain the masters degree through evening courses in a meeting two years back, the dean told the media.

The students from other faculties of Dhaka University also can get admission by sitting for the viva voce only while the students outside the DU must appear both in written and viva tests as per the rules, Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam added.

The dean also told the media, “This is nothing new. Students with various political affiliations had sought admission in different departments of the faculty at times.”

Of them, a few get the chance to study in the evening courses under the faculty, he added.

According to the rules of the evening MA programme, passed in the Syndicate of the university on 20 December 2015, the circular for admission must be published first. The students must apply using the specific application form. Applicants with work experience in related fields can apply as well. Applicants must sit for written and viva exams. Integrated result will be created based on the test results, the previous academic results and work experience.

About changing admission rules and taking approval from the university syndicate, dean Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam said evening programmes are the faculties’ own programmes.

The faculties do not need to go to the academic council or syndicate for any change in this type of programmes, he said adding they only take approvals of the programmes.

The dean further said the faculties conduct the programmes and change rules by themselves and apprise the university.

When asked about the date of the decision taken to admit DU students into evening programme without exams, the dean could not answer clearly. “This is a decision of our faculty. I cannot remember the exact date. This was probably in March or April of 2017 or 2018.”

The circular for admission in Master of Tax Management Programme was floated in November of 2018, ahead of the DUCSU elections. After the elections, the admission circular was published in May this year. It was not mentioned in both the circulars that DU students can get admission without examinations.

Regarding the matter, Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam said, “We are not admitting Dhaka University Students through circulars. We are providing chances to Dhaka University students for admission if seats are available. We’ve no arrangement of written test for them. But we’ll mention this in the future.”

About the statements of Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, Social Science faculty dean Sadeka Halim said there is no scope of admission without circular.

Kismatul Ahsan was the chairman of Finance department of the time under scanner.

The former chairman told Prothom Alo he could not recall any such decision taken about giving opportunity to DU students to take admission in the evening programmes without exams.

The same was reiterated by a former chairman of Management and Information Systems department of the university.

*The report, published in Prothom Alo online, has been rewritten in English by Farjana Liakat and Rabiul Islam