Edu ministry’s flip-flops over fake PhD

Bangla Press Desk: The Ministry of Education has issued three contradictory rulings over the PhD degree of Mala Khan, chief scientific officer of the Bangladesh Reference Institute for Chemical Measurements (BRiCM), obtained from an unapproved institution in 2010.

The ministry’s inconsistent decisions – first declaring the degree fake in 2015, valid in 2018, and again fake in 2025 – have raised concerns over transparency and possible influence within the process.

According to documents obtained by the Daily Sun, the ministry initially stated in a letter dated 1 April 2015 that Mala Khan’s PhD from American World University (AWU) was not recognised by the government and that the institution had no authority to confer doctoral degrees.

The letter, signed by Fatema Jahan, then senior assistant secretary of the ministry’s Secondary and Higher Education Division (SHED), also clarified that no private university in Bangladesh had permission to award PhD degrees.

However, a subsequent letter dated 8 May 2018, signed by Jinnat Rehana, then deputy secretary of the SHED, withdrew the previous declaration and deemed the degree valid after reviewing “supporting papers and documents”.

On 11 February 2025, SHED once again wrote to the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), under which BRiCM operated, chairman reaffirming that the degree was illegal, citing the original 2015 decision. The latest letter was signed by Rokhsana Begum, then deputy secretary, now joint secretary of SHED.

Contacted, Rokhsana Begum declined to comment, saying, “We are not authorised to share information with journalists.”

Asked, Jinnat Rehana, who signed the 2018 letter recognising the degree, now serving the Road Transport and Highways Division as joint secretary, said, “A deputy secretary has no authority to declare a degree valid or invalid. Such a decision must come from higher authorities. I cannot recall under which directive it was approved.”

A senior education ministry official, seeking anonymity, alleged that Mala Khan had influenced former Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman to secure the 2018 reversal in her favour.

An official of the University Grants Commission (UGC) told the Daily Sun that many government officers had obtained similar degrees from the same unapproved institutions. “The ministry’s 2018 letter may have been issued to avoid administrative hurdles, but the UGC has made it clear through multiple circulars that such degrees are not recognised.”

When asked about the fake degree, Mala Khan said, “I do not know why the ministry changes its decisions frequently with regards to my degrees. A vested quarter is pulling the strings; everyone should understand this. How can the ministry frequently change its stance? It was legal from the beginning, suddenly it became illegal, then they realised it was legal.”

“I will hold a press conference. I will explain the details then”, she further said. 

PhD earned in 15 months, thesis plagiarised

According to the documents, Mala Khan obtained her PhD just 15 months after enrolling in September 2009. Her thesis, titled “A National Strategy for Developing Chemical Metrology Infrastructure of Bangladesh (2009–2021)”, was found to be entirely plagiarised from the 2009 publication “Vision 2021 to Achieve Acceptable Quality in Chemical Measurements”.

A BCSIR committee formed in 2015 to assess the thesis concluded that the degree was “completely fake”, though its report was never made public.

The UGC has repeatedly issued circulars warning students and professionals against obtaining degrees from unapproved foreign institutions, specifically naming American World University (USA), Trinity University (USA), and the Spiritual Institute of New York. The commission described these entities as “entirely illegal” and cautioned that they were deceiving students into paying money for fraudulent degrees.

BP/SP