Forced Off Campus After a Mob Attack and Denied Administrative Support: DU’s Tahsin Rejects Dean’s Award

❐ Campus Representative

A. R. Tahsin Jahan, a student of the University’s Development Studies Department, has rejected the Dean’s Award, alleging that he was forced to leave the campus due to mob attacks and threats due to his political affiliation. He was nominated for the award by standing first in his department in the 2023 BSS (Hons) examination.

On Monday (September 14), Tahsin Jahan announced her decision to reject the Dean’s Award, claiming on her social media that “if justice is not for all, it is not justice.”

Tahseen said that since the beginning of his four-year undergraduate career at Dhaka University, he had been waiting for the day to receive the Dean’s Award. He was supposed to receive the award in recognition of being first in his department after countless sleepless nights and hard work. However, in the end, he did not accept the award.

Presenting information about his academic results, Tahsin said that he achieved a CGPA of 3.95 out of 4 in the Development Studies department in the 2023 BSS (Hons) examination. Earlier, he obtained a GPA-5 in the SSC examination from Viqarunnisa Noon School and College in 2017 and a GPA-5 in the HSC examination from the English version of the same institution in 2019.

Explaining the reason for rejecting the Dean’s Award, Tahsin said that in 2024, he was attacked by a mob solely because of his political identity. He claimed that he was threatened within his department and university, despite not being involved in any kind of violence.

He said that at one point he was unable to return to campus due to fear of mob attacks. He also alleged that he was prevented from participating in the final viva and submitting his graduation thesis.

Tahseen said that in that situation, some teachers in his department stood up for a student’s right to education. With their support, he was finally able to complete his graduation by participating in the final viva online from a safe place.

Expressing his gratitude to the teachers who supported him, Tahseen said that they have contributed to his achievements and they deserve the credit.

However, expressing anger over the role of the university administration, he said that like him, more than 10,000 students of Dhaka University and other public universities in the country are facing a crisis in their educational life and future due to their political affiliation. He also alleged that the university administration has not taken meaningful steps to protect the education rights of these students.

Tahsin alleges that the administration, in addition to remaining silent, has silently supported the radical mob and is still doing so.

He questioned, if democracy has been restored in the country after the fall of the government, why are thousands of students whose educational careers were disrupted due to political affiliation still unable to return to the classroom?

In the post, Tahsin also said that even serious criminals in prison have the right to receive education. However, the administration of public universities has not taken effective steps to protect that right of their students. He commented that these institutions are also responsible for the deaths of innocent people including Tofazzal, Masud and Shamim.

Tahseen does not see the decision to decline the Dean’s Award as a denigration of any award. Rather, he said he made the decision to show solidarity with his classmates who lost their right to education due to their political affiliation.

He said that he cannot celebrate his achievements by accepting awards from an institution and administration that did not stand by the side of thousands of students despite seeing their lives and futures destroyed.