DU English teacher relieved of duties over remarks to student wearing a veil

An associate professor at Dhaka University’s Department of English has been relieved of teaching duties following a complaint that she made inappropriate remarks to a female student about her clothing.

The decision was taken at an emergency academic meeting of the department today and forwarded to the university’s higher authorities for review, said department Chairperson Tazin Aziz Chaudhury.

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She said the decision was made on the basis of students' complaint, adding that the department does not have the authority to conduct a formal inquiry or suspend a teacher.

The professor's courses have meanwhile been reassigned to other faculty members, Tazin said.

The department also adopted a resolution describing the complaint as unfortunate and saying the alleged remarks did not reflect its values or practices.

“The remarks reflect the teacher’s personal views, not those of the department,” Tazin said.

She declined to disclose details of the complaint.

Dr Md Abul Kalam Sarker, dean of the faculty of Arts said, “The department took the decision unanimously because the allegation was found to be true.”

A video obtained by The Daily Star, containing statements from the student and one of her friends, alleges that the teacher asked the student to change seats because she was wearing a veil.

The student also alleged that the teacher called her a “fundamentalist” and a “terrorist”. Her friend made similar claims in the video.

The Daily Star could not independently verify the allegations.

Repeated attempts to contact the teacher for comment were unsuccessful.