Chittagong, Jagannath universities get new VCs

Professor Muhammad Yahia Akhtar has been appointed acting vice chancellor of Chittagong University while professor Md Rezaul Karim has been appointed seventh VC of Jagannath University.

Yahiya Akhtar is a retired professor from the department of political science at Chittagong University (CU).

A notification in this regard was issued by the education ministry on Wednesday.

On 12 August, CU VC professor Md Abu Taher and two pro-VCs professor Benu Kumar Dey and professor Sekandar Chowdhury resigned in face of protests.

Meanwhile, Md Rezaul Karim, a professor at the department of Social Work at Jagannath University, has been made VC of the university. A notification has been issued in this regard.

His tenure will last for four years from the date of joining, during which he will receive the same salary and benefits as his previous position before retirement, along with additional benefits applicable to the role.

Md Rezaul Karim completed his PhD at the University of Tsukuba, Japan.

He has previously served as the dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and chairman of the Department of Social Work at Jagannath University.

Prior to that, he held the position of chairman of the department of Social Work and dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Rajshahi University, and served as the dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Khulna University.

Rezaul Karim earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Social Welfare from the University of Dhaka. He joined Jagannath University as a faculty member in 2008.