JU Professor Dr. Ismot Ara on Tuesday denied that she sent the resumes of four teachers to Education Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud for appointment as vice-chancellor and other top administrative posts of Jahangirnagar University.
The accusation, rumored in different online media, is that Dr. Ismot Ara, a teacher of the Department of Zoology and the niece of the Education Adviser, used her family influence to make the appointments in this university. Dr. Ismot Ara has totally denied these allegations, saying that they are totally false and baseless.
"A person named Farooq Hossain, who identified himself as a journalist, informed me about a complaint that I, being the niece of the Education Adviser, had recommended four candidates for these positions," Dr. Ismot Ara said. Though she acknowledged her relation with Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud, she denied sending any resumes to him. "I am traumatized by the false news," she added.
Dr. Ismot Ara also gave her response to the allegations that she used her identity for the sake of politics. She told them that though she was a member of Bangabandhu Shikkhok Parishad, she never attends political meetings and that she was never against the movement of anti-discrimination and performed her duties as a teacher of the institute. "I came from Dhaka and taught my classes here. Such false information is being spread to defame me and my family," she said.
The four teachers allegedly mentioned in the resumes currently in circulation include Professor Khandkar Ashraful Munim of the Department of Economics, Professor Khandkar Mohammad Shariful Huda of the Department of Geography and Environment, Professor Shahadat Hossain of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Anisha Parveen Joli of the Department of History. However, when contacted these teachers also described the media reports as false.
The clarification comes amid the recent administrative turmoil at JU, where the resignation of the vice-chancellor and the proctor had led to an increasing level of speculations and misinformation. With a strong denial, Dr. Ismot Ara wants to set the record straight regarding her involvement and defend herself and her family's reputation against unverified accusations.