Chairman removed after Hasina's image displays during national anthem

The chairman of the Department of Microbiology at Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU) has been relieved of his post after an image of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina appeared on a digital screen while the national anthem was being played at a university event.

The university administration has also assigned Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Shafiqul Islam to serve as acting chairman of the department until the matter is resolved and the investigation is completed.

The decision was announced in an office order signed by acting Registrar Mohammad Tamzid Hossain Chowdhury on Wednesday.

According to the order, the incident occurred on September 17 during an event organised by the Department of Microbiology at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Ruhul Amin Auditorium to mark International Microorganism Day. A photograph of Sheikh Hasina was displayed on the digital screen while Microbiology department chairman Prof Dr Firoz Ahmed, a former president of the Life Sciences Prof Dr Gazi Md Mohsin and Proctor Prof AFM Arifur Rahman have been named member and member the national anthem was being played.

The university had earlier issued show-cause notices to Microbiology department chairman Prof Dr Firoz Ahmed, a former president of the pro-Awami League teachers’ organisation ‘Neel Dal’, and Associate Prof Dr Khandaker Fahmida Sultana, convener of the event’s organising committee. Both have since submitted their responses.

The university has formed a three-member committee to investigate the incident and submit a report.

Treasurer Prof Dr Md Hasan Uddin has been appointed convener, while Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences Prof Dr Gazi Md Mohsin and Proctor Prof AFM Arifur Rahman have been named member and member-secretary, respectively.

The university said further action would be taken based on the committee’s findings. During the investigation, the pro-vice-chancellor will perform the duties of the department chairman.

Organisers blame video which the student had not noticed beforehand. He described the incident as an unintentional mistake and said the department had expressed regret national anthem recordings had previously been played in audio format at university events. As a digital screen was used this time, a student downloaded downloaded from YouTube

On the day of the incident, Prof Firoz Ahmed said a student responsible for supervising the event’s digital banner and video had downloaded a widely viewed national anthem video from YouTube.

According to him, the final 10 seconds of the video contained Sheikh Hasina’s image, which the student had not noticed beforehand. He described the incident as an unintentional mistake and said the department had expressed regret to the university administration.

Associate Prof Khandaker Fahmida Sultana also gave a similar explanation, saying national anthem recordings had previously been played in audio format at university events. As a digital screen was used this time, a student downloaded a video from YouTube, but it was not played in full beforehand to check its contents.