The University Grants Commission (UGC) has withheld salary allocations for 17 teachers appointed at Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU) for allegedly recruiting them by ignoring the commission’s approval.
The UGC has instructed the university to suspend payment of salaries and allowances for the teacher posts until the commission makes a decision on the matter.
The decision was taken following allegations that the university appointed the 17 teachers by changing the posts approved by the UGC, appointing them in different departments and recruiting them to lower positions against higher-level posts.
The appointments were made during the tenure of former vice-chancellor Professor Mohammad Ismail.
In its observations, the UGC identified the appointments as violations of approval conditions and a financial loss, as teachers were appointed to departments against posts allocated for other departments and to lower positions against higher posts without the commission’s approval.
The information was revealed in UGC documents related to budget assessment.
According to the observations, the university changed the departments and positions of the posts released by the UGC and appointed teachers accordingly.
The UGC also recommended suspending salary and allowance payments for the irregularly appointed posts until a decision is made by the commission, and halting such recruitment activities. As the appointments were found to be irregular, no allocation was made for salaries and allowances against the higher posts.
According to a newly obtained UGC document titled “Annexure-03”, the UGC budget assessment team conducted an assessment of NSTU’s revised budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year and the original budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year on 4-5 February this year.
During the assessment, the team identified a total of 25 observations in different sections of the university. The report stated that despite repeated requests and reminders to the university authorities every fiscal year to take necessary measures regarding these observations, no satisfactory response was received.
It also noted that the university authorities had not taken any visible steps to resolve the observations so far.
It was learnt that although the UGC instructed the university to suspend salary and allowance payments for the teachers, the university administration has continued paying them citing humanitarian considerations.
When contacted for comments, NSTU Acting Registrar Mohammad Tamzid Hossain Chowdhury said the UGC had formed a committee over the issue. “The university administration has discussed the matter with the UGC, and we have presented our position there.”
NSTU Vice-Chancellor Professor Golam Rabbani said the university’s Regent Board had decided to review the appointments made in the past. “A high-powered investigation committee will be formed for this purpose. The committee will uncover what types of irregularities took place in previous recruitments.”
Regarding the UGC’s decision not to allocate salaries for the 17 teachers, the vice-chancellor said appointments through changing departments had not only occurred during the interim period but also in the past.
“Those who were responsible at the time made these appointments. It was a wrong decision by the relevant authorities in the administration. Although the UGC has not released salaries for these teachers, the university has continued their payments considering humanitarian aspects. A committee has been formed at the UGC over the issue. We are holding regular discussions with the commission. Further steps will be taken based on the committee’s decision,” he added.
