Prof Niaz Ahmed Khan steps down as Dhaka University VC

He submits his resignation to the education minister five days after the new government takes office

Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof Niaz Ahmed Khan has submitted his resignation five days after the new government took office.

Mohammad Firoz, his protocol officer, said the resignation letter was handed to Education Minister Ehsanul Hoque Milon at 10am on Sunday.

However, no decision has yet been communicated from the ministry, he added.

In a statement, the university said Prof Niaz met the minister on Feb 22 and submitted an application addressed to the president seeking release from the post of vice-chancellor and requesting to return to his position as a Grade-1 professor in the Department of Development Studies.

During the meeting, Milon sought his views on the university’s current and future challenges, prospects and steps needed to advance education and research, the statement said, adding that the minister requested his continued cooperation.

The vice-chancellor briefed the minister on academic and research activities, future plans, campus security and stability, and expressed his commitment to continue contributing to Dhaka University and the broader education sector, according to the statement. The minister thanked him for his role in the university’s development during what was described as a critical period for the country.

Education ministry spokesman Khalid Mahmud confirmed that the vice-chancellor had submitted his resignation letter in the morning.

“The authority to accept or reject it rests with the president,” he said.

Prof Niaz, a faculty member of the Department of Development Studies, was appointed vice-chancellor on Aug 27, 2024, after the fall of the Awami League government in the face of a student-led mass uprising.

On Feb 10, two days before the general election, he told a press conference that he wished to step down from the post, saying he felt the university had reached a “good position” in discharging its responsibilities. He also said at the time that he would continue for some time if the government wanted to ensure continuity.

Born in 1966, Prof Niaz completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Chittagong and later obtained a postgraduate diploma in human resource management. He earned a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Wales, Swansea, in 1996, and subsequently completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Wales, the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand and the University of Oxford.

He previously served as chair of the Department of Development Studies at Dhaka University and as pro-vice-chancellor of Independent University. He has also worked with UNDP, the Asian Development Bank and Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), and served as a consultant to the United Nations, the World Bank, USAID and the government of Bangladesh.