University Teachers Targeted over Alleged Support for Hasina: HRW
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported that faculty members and students across public universities in Bangladesh are subjected to arbitrary disciplinary measures following the fall of former PM Sheikh Hasina. The international rights organization highlighted that university administrations are implementing dismissals, suspensions, and campus bans without adhering to due legal process. These punitive actions are predominantly targeting individuals based on their alleged political ties to Hasina and her party, the Awami League.
The rights group emphasized that taking punitive measures against individuals solely for their peaceful political beliefs or without transparent investigations violates fundamental rights. Under international human rights law, freedom of expression and association must be safeguarded within academic spaces. However, actions such as withholding exam certificates, restricting teaching duties, and expelling hundreds of students are currently depriving affected individuals of their basic right to higher education without giving them a fair chance to defend themselves.
Multiple higher education institutions across Bangladesh have recorded significant disciplinary actions against staff and students. At Dhaka University, authorities instructed dozens of teachers to suspend academic activities without credible inquiries, subsequently suspending six and investigating fourteen others. Similar measures were taken at Bangladesh Agricultural University and Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, where multiple faculty members were either dismissed or temporarily suspended. At the same time, dozens more were systematically denied career promotions.
Media reports from August 2026 revealed that over 400 teachers across 22 universities were placed under investigation for their alleged involvement in a pro-Awami League Telegram group. HRW noted that Bangladeshi public universities have long suffered from partisan control, with administrations historically favoring ruling-party supporters while penalizing opposition factions. Affected faculty members alleged that recent investigations lacked basic transparency, noting that they were completely denied the opportunity to participate in their own disciplinary hearings.
Addressing these developments, HRW Deputy Asia Director Meenakshi Ganguly remarked, ‘Bangladesh’s universities have a long history of political debate, which only authoritarian rulers should fear, not a government born of a student-led movement.’ She further stated, ‘Instead of repeating historical chapters of repression, Bangladesh’s interim authorities must end this ongoing retaliatory cycle where political shifts automatically trigger sweeping victimization across academic campuses.’
