BRAC University explains reason for Asif Mahtab’s dismissal

BRAC University explained the reasons behind the sacking of part-time teacher Asif Mahtab, who came to the limelight after tearing up pages of the history and social science textbook for Class VII.

The university issued a press notification in this regard on Monday (January 29).

According to the notification, “The recent act of tearing pages out of a textbook published by the government and asking others to do the same in a public forum is an act of vandalism, a behaviour not supported by BRAC University.”

The statement also said that Asif Mahtab tore up the pages containing the lesson ‘The Story of Sharifa’ in the chapter on similarities and differences between people in the book during a discussion on the new curriculum in Dhaka on Jan 19. A video of the incident was widely shared on social media.

The story represents the lives of people from the ‘hijra and third gender’ community but Asif claimed that the inclusion of the tale on transgender people in the textbook would promote ‘homosexuality’, tearing up the pages and urging others to do so.

Earlier, following the debate sparked by the matter on social media, BRAC University said it no longer has a contract with Asif as of January 20. Later, a group of students of the varsity staged demo supporting Asif Mahtab.