CoU appoints 5 faculty deans

Comilla University (CoU) has appointed permanent deans to its five faculties following a review of the university’s law, a committee report, and legal opinions concerning pending civil litigation over dean appointments.

The appointments were confirmed through an office order signed by Acting Registrar Mohammad Nurul Karim Chowdhury on Monday.

The newly appointed deans are Prof Dr Sajal Chandra Majumder of the Department of Physics for the Faculty of Science, Prof Dr Muhammad Shamsuzzaman Milki of the Department of Bangla for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Prof Dr Mohammad Rezaul Karim of the Department of Public Administration for the Faculty of Social Sciences, Associate Prof Dr Mahmudul Hasan of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering for the Faculty of Engineering, and Associate Prof Dr Md Emdadul Haque of the Department of Finance and Banking for the Faculty of Business Studies.

According to the office order, the appointments were made in line with decisions taken at the university’s 109th and 110th Syndicate meetings, Section 22 of the Comilla University Act, 2006, the report of the committee formed to review dean appointments, and the legal opinion on Writ Petition No. 3045 of 2020 and the subsequent Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal No. 937 of 2020.

University authorities said the appointments were made by following the faculty rotation system.

However, as previous administrations had deviated from the established rotation on several occasions, the process this time began with the departments that had earlier been overlooked.

The administration also said that once a department’s turn was determined, the dean was selected based on seniority among eligible teachers.

Faculty members who had previously served as dean or were facing legal complications were excluded, with the next eligible senior teacher being appointed instead.

Officials said the process was designed to ensure transparency and avoid any controversy.

Before the permanent appointments, an office order issued on May 20 had assigned representatives to serve as acting deans until legal advice was received.

Those representatives included Prof Dr Mohammad Syedur Rahman of the Department of Chemistry for the Faculty of Science, Prof Dr Md Zakir Chhayadullah Khan of the Department of Economics for the Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof Dr Md Tofayel Ahmed of the Department of Information and Communication Technology for the Faculty of Engineering, Prof Dr Mohammad Amzad Hossain Sarkar of the Department of Marketing for the Faculty of Business Studies, while Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr M M Shariful Karim served as the dean’s representative for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

Acting Registrar Mohammad Nurul Karim Chowdhury said previous dean appointments had involved several deviations from established rules.

“This time, the appointments were made after considering the university law, the pending petitions, the legal opinion, and the committee report to ensure that the process remained lawful and free from controversy,” he said.