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University Watch
Source: BDPolicyLab Watch record and cited public sourcesAs of 2026-07-05
The university is currently facing significant scrutiny and public criticism regarding alleged irregularities in its recruitment processes.
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Mohammad Abu Zafar Khan served as chief discussant at a seminar on higher education in madrasahs.
Media reports emerged regarding allegations of recruitment violations and administrative scrutiny at the university.
Prof. Dr. Mohammad Abu Zafar Khan was confirmed in reports as the Vice-Chancellor of the Islamic Arabic University.
student_count (598,031) and faculty_count (22,921) are from Bangla Wikipedia citing the distributed affiliated-institution headcount across all 1,923 institutions; the 22,921 figure represents teachers at all affiliated madrasas, not IAU's own staff. campus_count=1 refers to the administrative HQ at 124/90/03, Block B, Road 02, West Dhanmondi, Basila, Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1231; the university is otherwise off-campus by design. Pro-VC position appears vacant after Abu Jafar Khan's elevation to VC in March 2026; no new appointment found as of verification date. Treasurer and registrar names not found in post-March-2026 sources; UGC profile page could not be fetched (SSL error). IAU is distinct from Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia and from the Qawmi-stream Befaqul Madarisil Arabia. The March 2026 VC reshuffle was part of the BNP-Tarique government's first batch of seven simultaneous VC appointments (March 16-17, 2026).
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