‘Aynabaji’ in VC Appointment? Education Ministry Cites ‘Typing Mistake’

In a bizarre administrative turn of events resembling a real-life plot twist, the Ministry of Education has replaced the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of Jamalpur Science and Technology University less than a month into his tenure, claiming he was made VC "by mistake".

Professor Dr. Mohammad Amir Hossain Bhuiyan of Jahangirnagar University, who officially took charge on May 16, was informed 23 days later that he was not the intended appointee. In his place, the ministry has issued a new circular appointing Professor Dr. Md. Amir Hossain from the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding at Bangladesh Agricultural University.

Relevant officials from the Ministry of Education told The Daily Campus that while the initial circular was prepared with the intention of appointing the candidate from the agricultural university, data of the Jahangirnagar University professor was erroneously used due to their identical names.

The ministry labeled the incident a clerical "typing mistake" made by staff during notification drafting. However, many education experts refuse to view this as a simple administrative oversight, describing the scenario as a real-life version of the movie Aynabaji (Mirror Game), where one individual assumed another's identity and ran a public institution for nearly three weeks before the error was caught.

The Two VCs and the High-Powered Search Committee

The administrative mix-up traces back to early April when the newly formed government reconstituted the public university VC search committee. The six-member committee is headed by Abdul Khalek, Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division.

Other notable members include Dhaka University VC Professor Dr. A.B.M. Obaidul Islam, Rajshahi University VC Professor Dr. Md. Faridul Islam, University Grants Commission (UGC) Member Professor Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan, and Dhaka University Marketing Department Professor Dr. Md. Morshed Hasan, with the Additional Secretary (University) serving as member secretary.

Both professors named "Amir Hossain" had submitted their curriculum vitae to this search committee. On May 14, the Ministry of Education issued simultaneous notifications appointing VCs to 11 public universities. Among them, Dr. Mohammad Amir Hossain Bhuiyan—a professor of Environmental Science at Jahangirnagar University and a leader of the Nationalist Teachers' Forum—was appointed as the VC of Jamalpur Science and Technology University for a four-year term.

Controversies and Alternate Theories Behind the Ouster

Immediately following his appointment, Dr. Bhuiyan's past record sparked intense public criticism in national media. Investigation reveals that in 2024, Jahangirnagar University students filed written complaints against him accusing him of sexual harassment, body shaming, mental torture, and abuse of power. Furthermore, the university's previous administration had temporarily suspended him on August 3, 2019, following a syndicate meeting regarding research plagiarism.

Insiders from both the education ministry and the university hint that the "typing mistake" defense might be a bureaucratic cover-up for two underlying reasons. First, his appointment was heavily compromised after media reports revived the severe sexual harassment and plagiarism allegations, forcing the UGC to form a five-member probe committee led by State University of Bangladesh VC Professor Dr. Md. Akhhtar Hossain Khan to fast-track an inquiry. Second, rumors suggest political pressure from a local minister in Jamalpur who wanted his own preferred candidate installed as the VC.

Friction and Disagreements Openly Aired

The ousted VC, Professor Dr. Mohammad Amir Hossain Bhuiyan, strongly rejected the ministry's clerical error justification while talking to The Daily Campus. He questioned how an entire university's name could be swapped by a "typing mistake," arguing that such an excuse embarrasses the Prime Minister who personally signs off on these executive files.

He stated that after joining office on May 16, he was accepted by students and faculty, hosted multiple campus conferences, and even submitted a development project proposal worth 1,500 crore BDT to the government. He claimed he was blindsided by the sudden removal and had already returned to campus ahead of its post-Eid reopening when the new circular was dropped on Saturday afternoon.

Dr. Bhuiyan also alleged that during a meeting on May 24, Education Secretary Abdul Khalek behaved discourteously, questioning why he took charge despite verbal instructions not to do so. Secretary Abdul Khalek firmly denied treating the professor poorly, clarifying that an additional secretary had explicitly phoned Dr. Bhuiyan immediately after the initial circular to hold off on joining due to the error, but he went ahead and joined anyway.

The Secretary reiterated that the confusion stemmed entirely from a typing mistake, though he acknowledged that the subsequent media firestorm regarding Dr. Bhuiyan's sexual harassment cases prompted the ministry to ask the UGC for an urgent investigation report.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed VC, Professor Dr. Md. Amir Hossain from Mymensingh, confirmed receiving his official appointment letter on Saturday. While refusing to comment on whether the identical names pointed to a coincidence or systemic administrative flaws, he stated that he had submitted his CV to the search committee and would be officially joining his new post at Jamalpur Science and Technology University by Sunday morning.