The New Nation - Internet Edition

DU Correspondent

The Dean's election of Dhaka University will be held on August 19 at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) of the university.

This will be the first election in the university after the present government came to power.

A total of 21 teachers divided into two groups-White Panel belonging to the BNP-Jamaat and Blue Panel, to the Awami League and Left leaning parties- will compete in the Deans` Election for 10 faculties of the university.

The candidates have started campaigning to woo young teachers, whose votes will play a pivotal role in winning the election.

Syed Abul Kalam Azad, treasurer of the university, will conduct the polls as election commissioner.

The incumbent Arts Faculty`s Dean Prof Sadrul Amin, a teacher of the English Department, is running for the Dean of Arts Faculty from the White Panel, while Fakhrul Alam of the same department is running for the position from the Blue Panel.

Prof Tajmeri SA Islam of the Chemistry Department from the White Panel is running for the Dean of the Science Faculty. The Blue Panel candidate for the position is Prof Muhibur Rahman of the same department.

Prof Abbas Ali of the Management Department is contesting from the White Panel for the position of the business studies dean and Prof Mizanur Rahman, a professor of marketing, is the candidate for the position from the Blue Panel.

The incumbent Social Sciences Dean Prof Harun-or- Rashid will face Prof Ferdous Hossain of the Political Science Department in the contest for the same position.

White Panel candidate Prof Abul Bashar of the Zoology Department will face the incumbent bioscience dean Prof Anwar Hossain a teacher of Biochemistry, who is contesting for the position of the bioscience dean from the Blue Panel.

Prof Farida Begum of the Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology Department is the Blue Panel candidate for the position of the pharmacy dean and her opponent in the White Panel is Prof Abdur Rashid, a teacher of the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department.

Painter Rafiqun Nabi is the Blue panel candidate for the newly introduced Dean of Fine Arts Faculty. He faces two opponents - Abdus Sattar and Mahmudul Haq, both from the White Panel.

Shahnaz Haq Hussain of the Geography Department is the White Panel candidate for the position of the earth and environmental sciences dean and she will face the Blue Panel candidate Qamrul Hasan, a teacher of the geology department.

Prof Shahida Rafique, wife of Barrister Rafiqul Islam Mia, is the White Panel candidate for the position of the engineering and technology dean and the Blue Panel candidate is Prof Neem Chandra Bhowmick, a professor of Applied Physics.

Prof Borhan Uddin Khan has already been declared elected as Dean of Law Faculty as no other nomination papers have been filed for the post.

The election commissioner, Abul Kalam Azad, said they were holding the elections as the incumbent deans` tenure had been ended on June 30, 2007. But the university could not hold the polls in due time because of restriction in the state of emergency, he said.