Dhaka University sociology teacher promoted despite plagiarism charge

A Dhaka University teacher accused of plagiarism has been promoted to the rank of a professor.

Tapon Kanti Roy, DU Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 21 June 2016, 07:55 PM
Updated : 22 June 2016, 00:17 AM

Evidence of plagiarism detected in a book and six articles by sociology department teacher Salma Begum, prompted one of the members of the appointment committee to give a ‘note of dissent’.
 
Earlier, in 2013, the university had blocked her promotion on grounds of similar plagiarism charges.
 
She had admitted to her wrongdoing and sought pardon then.
 
Recently, Salma Begum and two other associate professors of the sociology department had been recommended for promotion, and the appointment committee met on Tuesday to take a decision.
 
Sadeka Halim, one of the five members of the committee, gave the ‘note of dissent’ against Begum’s promotion, citing plagiarism.
 
But inquiries revealed that other members of the committee endorsed the promotion, overruling Halim’s objection.
 
The others on the panel were DU Vice-Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, Rajshahi University Vice-Chancellor Prof Md Mizan Uddin, DU Faculty of Social Sciences Dean Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed and former sociology department teacher Kamrul Ahsan Chowdhury.
 

According to the rules, it is illegal to endorse anyone’s promotion before proper investigations if a ‘note of dissent’ is submitted by any of the panel members.
The promotion was later finalised by the DU Syndicate, several members confirmed to bdnews24.com.
Investigations revealed that the book and six articles Begum had submitted as credentials contained material lifted directly from various books, research papers by others, and from different websites.
She did not even mention any sources or give references.
Attempts to reach Begum for comment went in vain as her mobile phone was found switched off.

Several teachers of the sociology department, asking not to be named, alleged that there was controversy over Begum’s PhD degree, too.​

Prof Sadeka Halim told bdnews24.com: “Plagiarising from someone else’s research and using it under your name is a sign of moral decay.
 
“We thought Salma Begum would correct herself after similar allegations were raised against her in 2013. But she has been accused of plagiarising again, which is humiliating for all teachers.”
 
When asked to comment on Begum’s promotion despite the major accusation, VC AAMS Arefin Siddique told this bdnews24.com correspondent to meet him on Wednesday.