Rajshahi University has finally published the master’s result of Rafiqul Islam, a 2007–08 student of the Department of Applied Mathematics whose academic record was mired in political and institutional conflict. A notification signed by Controller of Examinations Dr. Md. Hasnat Kabir says Rafiqul has been provisionally declared successful in the M.Sc. (thesis group) examination and has achieved a GPA of 4.00, placing first in his department. The notice makes the result provisional – effective only after syndicate ratification and reserves the university’s right to amend or cancel it if any discrepancy is found.

Rafiqul’s student status had been cancelled in 2013 after allegations of thesis forgery surfaced amid sharp clashes between members of Rajshahi Metropolitan Chhatra Shibir (for which Rafiqul served as education editor) and some departmental teachers. Earlier, while jailed, Rafiqul sat his bachelor’s final exam and secured First Class, First. The withheld master’s result has now been released after a review: a three-member inquiry panel (chaired by Professor Dr. Md. Fazlul Haque of the Department of History and Culture) investigated the 2013 cancellation, and the university’s 536th syndicate meeting on 6 February accepted the review committee’s recommendations to reinstate his student status and publish the previously withheld result.

Reacting to the announcement, Rafiqul described the news as one of the happiest moments of his life. He said he is the only son of a low-income family, and that the cancellation of his student status gravely affected his family and left him with a decade of trauma. He also claimed he was socially and politically harassed, including harassment by Awami League activists, which blocked his opportunities to enroll in public master’s programmes in Bangladesh. Rafiqul noted subsequent academic achievements: he completed a weekend master’s at Jahangirnagar University (also with a CGPA of 4), pursued a master’s in China, began PhD work there but returned amid political unrest, and is currently enrolled in a PhD programme at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia.

Student leaders aligned with Rafiqul celebrated the decision. Mostakur Rahman Jahid, vice-president of the central students’ union (Raksu) and president of the local Chhatra Shibir, posted on Facebook that the publication ends what he called “years of fascist oppression,” noting the result had been withheld for about 12 years. Jahid used the occasion to allege that many student-activists have suffered similar “academic harassment” – finishing studies but being prevented from collecting certificates.University sources confirm the formal process: following the inquiry committee’s report and the review panel’s recommendations, the syndicate decided to reinstate Rafiqul’s student status and publish the withheld result. The university’s public notice, however, emphasizes the result’s provisional status and the administration’s authority to correct or annul it if any irregularity is later detected.