The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Wednesday raided the Registrar’s Office of Chittagong University (CU), escalating allegations of irregular and questionable appointments from campus controversy to a formal institutional investigation.
An ACC enforcement team entered the university’s administrative building around 11:30am and began examining recruitment records amid complaints that appointments of teachers, officers and employees were pushed through syndicate meetings in violation of rules.
The move signals growing concern that the issue may extend beyond administrative lapses to a potential abuse of authority.
University sources confirmed that ACC officials sought documents related to appointments made under the current administration, following allegations that more than 150 recruitments were approved amid objections and irregularities.
ACC Assistant Director (Chattogram-1) Sayed Alam said the commission is investigating complaints that around 250 teachers and employees were appointed across different syndicates during the past 15 months under Vice-Chancellor Muhammad Yahya Akhtar.
“There are allegations that relatives of teachers were appointed in the Persian, Finance and Criminology departments. The appointment of Laboratory School principal is also marred by irregularities,” Sayed Alam said.
“Initial records indicate that those appointed are related to some faculty members. Whether this constitutes nepotism will be determined after a full examination of the record sheets,” he added.
Despite the ongoing probe, CU authorities have maintained that all appointments were lawful.
The university earlier announced that 113 appointments were approved at its 565th syndicate meeting on 9 January, claiming in a 12 January press release that the recruitment process followed University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines.
According to the administration, 88 candidates were directly appointed, while others were regularised from temporary or university-funded positions.
However, official data show a sharp volume of recruitment.
The latest syndicate approved appointments of 21 teachers, eight officers, 37 third-class and 47 fourth-class employees, while 16 posts – including 10 teaching positions in five departments—were reportedly left vacant due to a lack of qualified candidates.
Registrar of CU Professor Dr Saiful Islam acknowledged that a total of 321 appointments have been made during the tenure of the current administration, with nearly one-third of temporary appointments made permanent – figures that have intensified scrutiny over whether recruitment oversight mechanisms were bypassed.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Dr Mohammad Shamim Uddin Khan said the university follows a three-stage recruitment process for teachers – written test, presentation and viva – and claimed that appointments are based strictly on merit.
“We have provided all documents sought by the ACC and welcome the inquiry in the interest of transparency,” he said.
Yet ACC officials said key documents, particularly written and viva score sheets, were not available during the raid, as they were reportedly with the Vice-Chancellor, who was absent from the office at the time.
“Without the number sheets, we cannot yet determine whether the recruitment process was legal or illegal,” Sayed Alam said, adding that the records would be sought once the Vice-Chancellor returns.
The ACC official also pointed to allegations that appointments in the Persian Department proceeded without recommendations from the department’s planning committee.
“Our preliminary review shows no such recommendation in the records. We will examine the applicable laws and regulations and submit a detailed report to the commission within 48 hours,” he said.
Rejecting claims of mass recruitment in the most recent syndicate alone, Sayed Alam clarified that only 18 teacher appointments were approved at the latest meeting, while most others involved the regularisation of temporary staff. Still, he noted, the broader pattern of recruitment remains under investigation.
With the ACC now formally involved, the CU appointment controversy has moved beyond administrative explanation to legal examination, raising pressing questions about governance, transparency and accountability in one of the country’s leading public universities.
