Prof Abrar to be sworn in as Education Adviser

Staff Reporter :

Professor Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar of the Department of International Relations at Dhaka University is set to become the Education Adviser of the interim government.

He is scheduled to take the oath at 11 AM on Wednesday, March 5, at the Bangabhaban.

This was announced by the press secretary to the Chief Adviser, Shafiqul Alam, at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, March 4.

He said, ‘The oath-taking is tomorrow. The new adviser will take the oath. He is Professor C.R. Abrar. He was a professor at Dhaka University and has written extensively.’

‘We hope that he will take over the Ministry of Education. Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud has been saying for a long time that he cannot handle the responsibilities of two ministries at the same time,’ Shafiqul Alam added.

He further stated, ‘Therefore, Professor C.R. Abrar is joining us. He will probably take over the education sector.’

Currently, there are 21 advisers in the interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.

Among them, Wahiduddin Mahmud handles the Ministry of Education and Planning. If C.R. Abrar takes over the education responsibility, the Chief Adviser will reorganise the departments accordingly.

Professor C.R. Abrar, a retired professor of Dhaka University’s International Relations Department, is also the Executive Director of the private research organization Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RAMRU), which focuses on migration issues.

His research subjects include Rohingya refugees, migrant workers, and the citizenship issues of Bangladesh’s Urdu-speaking population. He has also served as the president of the human rights organization ‘Adhikar’ in the past.

After the political transition, C.R. Abrar was a member of the Search Committee formed last year for the formation of a new Election Commission.