First in Honours while in jail, first in Masters after 12 years—who is this Rafiqul Islam?

Rajshahi University student Rafiqul Islam has finally received the results of his Masters exam, which had been postponed for a decade. Surprisingly, it is true—he secured first place in his department and got CGPA 4.00. Rafiqul's educational journey is different; he passed the Honours exam while in jail and secured first class first. But due to political affiliations and internal conflicts in the department, he was accused of thesis forgery and his studentship was cancelled. After that, he could not get admission in Masters in any university in the country and moved abroad. After completing his Masters in China, he is currently doing his PhD at King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia.

After the political change, the RU administration reconsidered his case. Based on the recommendation and review report of the investigation committee, his studentship was reinstated and the decision was taken to publish the delayed results. The results of the Masters exam published on Wednesday showed that he came first in the department by getting the highest marks in the thesis group. After the results were released, Rafiqul said that as the only son of his family, he had a dream of building a good career, but he suffered from mental anguish for a long time after being a victim of injustice. Getting this result after 12 years is one of the happiest moments of his life.

Rafiqul also said that in 2015, he completed his Masters in the Weekend Program of Jahangirnagar University and got a CGPA of 4.00 there. Later, he started his Masters and PhD in China. He believes that he was harassed out of political vendetta because he served as the Education Secretary of Chhatra Shibir in Rajshahi. RU Raksur VP and Chhatra Shibir President Mostaqur Rahman Zahid also expressed his joy at the release of his results. He said that this is not just an example of justice for one person, but for many students who have been victims of academic oppression for years.