Dhaka University (DU) authorities have directed the deans of all faculties and the directors of all institutes to submit lists of teachers who did not hold classes on November 10 without prior permission.
The lists must reach the university registrar by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11.
A notice signed by the registrar on Tuesday stated that the administration had received information that some teachers from several departments and institutes did not conduct classes that day. Letters have been sent to all deans and institute directors to implement the directive.
University officials have said the exercise is intended to determine the reasons for the absences, including whether any teachers faced threats or felt insecure.
The absences coincided with a nationwide all-out strike called by the banned organisation Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL). The strike demanded cancellation of the International Crimes Tribunal verdict against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, lifting of the bans on the Awami League and Chhatra League, and other points. Multiple DU teachers reportedly did not attend classes as part of the programme.
On the same day, around 2:20 p.m., two crude bomb (cocktail) explosions occurred on the DU campus—one near the Shadow area beside the Arts Building and another in front of the Faculty of Business Studies (FBS). A private-car driver identified as Sohel (36) was seriously injured and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital; a vehicle was also damaged. Similar explosions had occurred on campus in the preceding days.
International Concerns Over Vengeful Persecution Since 2024
The directive has drawn renewed attention to widespread international criticism of alleged politically motivated persecution of teachers and students by Bangladesh authorities since the August 2024 political changeover that ousted Sheikh Hasina’s government.
Human Rights Watch, in a 3 November 2026 statement, reported that scores of academics and students at public universities have faced arbitrary punishment—including dismissals, suspensions and teaching restrictions—because of alleged affiliation with Hasina and the Awami League.
At Dhaka University alone, authorities ordered 44 academics to stop their work and restricted the teaching assignments of another 25 without transparent or credible disciplinary investigations.
HRW described the pattern as political revenge that violates rights to freedom of expression, association and education, and noted that more than 20 public universities have been affected.
A special report released on 10 November 2026 by JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) documented the politically motivated persecution of at least 2,051 individuals—including 482 teachers and academics and 1,569 students—across 229 higher-education institutions between August 2024 and October 2026. The organisation said victims were targeted solely for their actual or perceived affiliation with the Awami League or its student wing, the Chhatra League.
Documented measures included academic exclusion, forced resignations, criminal proceedings, residential-hall expulsions and other coercive actions. JMBF estimated that more than 100,000 students and former students with actual, alleged or imputed Chhatra League links may have faced interference with their education.
Critics argue that administrative steps such as compiling lists of teachers who observed the November 10 strike risk further entrenching a climate of fear and retribution against those perceived as linked to the previous regime, rather than restoring academic normalcy through due process and impartial investigation.