Political divisions are threatening to tear apart Bangladesh’s top universities, with academics claiming that “scaremongering” has become the “new normal”.

Dhaka University leaders were recently urged to take action against a list of 231 faculty teachers accused of supporting the previous government led by the exiled Sheikh Hasina.

In response, the university suspended three teachers and withdrew four others from academic responsibilities. A four-member inquiry committee has been formed to discuss next steps.

These actions were strongly opposed by the Dhaka University Teachers' Association (DUTA), which issued a statement to say that the university was not acting in accordance with its own rules that say no employee can be punished unless the allegations against them are established through due process and a formal investigation.

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Tensions have escalated across other universities over the past month with Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Chittagong University, Jagannath University and Islamic University also launching committees to investigate teachers alleged to have been supportive of the Awami League government, which was toppled by protesters during an uprising in July 2024.

The interventions come in the wake of remarks made by Hasina, who has said that she intends to return to Bangladesh by the end of the year.

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Michael Kugelman, senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, said the events should be seen as part of “a very long history of rivalry between the current ruling party, the Bangladesh National Party, and the Awami League”.

Given the political history of Bangladesh, he said the events at Dhaka University do “not come as a surprise”, but he would be interested to know “to what extent this is being driven by only the teachers themselves”.

Since February of this year, when the BNP assumed power after two decades, Kugelman said that the party “has been trying to, at least publicly, distance itself from the retributive politics of the past”. He added that Tarique Rahman, Bangladesh’s new prime minister, “tried to set a positive tone” when he took office.

“Given the tone that the new government has sought to put out there, at least publicly, it is striking that we would see this type of thing now,” Kugelman said.

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He also found it “striking” that there are 231 university educators who might be supportive of the Awami League because it suggests “a fair amount of support” for a party whose base many thought was “decimated”. 

A professor at Dhaka University, who wished to remain anonymous, told Times Higher Education that “punitive measures against seven teachers and the publication of a bewildering list of 231 teachers” is evidence of a “growth of intolerance”.

They said that “both the government and the opposition are playing dirty politics in the university”.

“Is it unlawful to support a political party? If the answer is no, then how can these measures be justified? If there is evidence of any violation of the law, action should be taken through due legal process. A culture of scaremongering has become the new normal in Bangladesh’s public universities. This must stop immediately.”

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Zeenat Huda, general secretary at DUTA, who is one of the 231 names on the list, said what was happening among the teaching community is “very shocking”, adding university values including “freedom of thought” and “freedom of expression” are “missing or disappearing from Dhaka University as well as other educational institutions” and “we are scared”.

Dhaka University was contacted for comment.

rosalind.skillen@timeshighereducation.com