Staff Correspondent

The University Grants Commission (UGC), statutory apex body in the field of higher education in Bangladesh, is in trouble as various crises have arisen in the activities of the institution for the absence of its chief who has been on leave for months due to illness.

UGC Chairman Prof Kazi Shahidullah, who is suffering from stomach cancer, is currently in Australia for treatment. Prof Muhammed Alamgir, member of the commission, has been shouldering the responsibilities of the chairman with the additional charge.

Sources at the UGC said Prof Shahidullah took charge as the chairman for the first time on 26 May 2019. He was on leave for eight months and a half due to illness during this term.

The education ministry issued a notification appointing him for the second term on 25 May this year. He has already spent three months of sick leave during this period from 20 August and asked for another four-month leave till 7 March next year, which is still awaiting approval from the ministry. In the first term, the UGC chairman went to Australia for treatment in mid-March 2022 and joined work on 1 December that year after his physical condition improved. In his absence, UGC member Prof Dil Afroza Begum had been carrying out the routine duty of chairman.

Officials said administrative complications have surfaced as the chairman is on leave. It is uncertain when the chief will return as he is suffering from cancer, they said.

Before his long leave, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Prof Shahidullah did not attend office physically for more than a year till August 2021. They said many important decisions cannot be made due to the absence of a chairman, while members, who carry out the routine duties of the chairman, do not want to make those decisions. As a result, the commission's work is slowing down. Considering the crisis, a fresh appointment for the post is a must, they said.

Meanwhile, officials at the chairman’s office are also passing time idly due to his absence. Md Mustafejur Rahman, personal secretary to the chairman, told the Daily Sun that they are now spending time without any work. As Prof Alamgir is carrying out the chairman’s duty, his office is handling the activities, he said.

Asked about the crisis, a member of the UGC told this correspondent on condition of anonymity, “Definitely there are some problems as the chairman is not here. The member who is in additional charge of the chairman cannot do many things even if he wants. We cannot say anything either.

“Since an individual among the members is entrusted to run the organisation as an additional duty, other members cannot take it well either. Ultimately, the commission itself is suffering.”

Prof Muhammed Alamgir refused to comment on the issue.