Pro-Bangladesh Nationalist Party and pro-Awami League teachers at Jahangirnagar University on Wednesday selected almost equal number of their representatives to the Jahangirnagar University Teachers’ Association as they formed the body on the basis of mutual understanding.
Of the 15 positions in the JUTA, teachers of the two groups selected 14 representatives – eight allocated for pro-BNP teachers and six for pro-AL teachers.
Election was held to fill the position of general secretary where an AL candidate got elected.
The last position was filled up with a neutral candidate.
BNP leaning teacher professor Sohel Rana was made president, professor Masum Shahriar became treasurer, and professor Mohammad Raihan Sharif joint secretary.
The other executive members from the BNP platform included Muntakimul Bari Chowdhury, Aminur Rahman Khan, Nahid Akhtar, Borhan Uddin, and Mohammad Shafiqul Islam.
Several Awami League-leaning teachers, including professor Emran Jahan who was selected as vice-president, also took positions on the committee.
Meanwhile, professor Lutful Elahi, professor Amina Islam, professor Mahabubur Rahman, professor Amzad Hossain became executive members of the Awami League platform without any competition.
Awami League-backed professor Irin Akhtar was elected as general secretary following the election.
According to the university sources, tensions within the Awami League faction surfaced during the tenure of former vice-chancellor Nurul Alam in 2023.
The division led to a split among Awami League-aligned teachers, with a group forming the ‘Teachers’ Council for the Spirit of Liberation War and the Ideals of Bangabandhu’, which was opposed to the vice-chancellor.
This faction later joined forces with the BNP-aligned Nationalist Teachers’ Forum, forming the ‘Shikkhak’ Oikya Parishad’ to contest the previous election.
Meanwhile, another faction, the Bangabandhu Teachers’ Council, also participated in the election.
Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, the Bangabandhu Teachers’ Council became inactive.
The Teachers’ Council for the Spirit of Liberation War and the Ideals of Bangabandhu underwent a name change and is now known as the ‘Teachers’ Council for the Ideals of Liberation War’.
As a result, this year’s elections only featured the ‘Shikkhak Oikya Parishad’ and a few independent candidates.
Professor Lutful Elahi, secretary to the Teachers’ Council for the Ideals of Liberation War, said that the negotiations were a result of discussions with the ‘Shikkhak Oikya Parishad’.
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