LGRD Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday inaugurated the temporary office of Thakurgaon University with a blunt warning that hiring would be strictly merit-based and that pressure on him and the vice-chancellor would not be tolerated. “This isn’t a charitable hospital,” he said. “Only the qualified and meritorious will be teachers here.”

Alamgir alleged pressure was being exerted on him and the newly appointed VC. “We can’t allow this, and we won’t allow it,” he told the inauguration, adding that no opportunity for nepotism would be created in the appointment of faculty or other staff.

The minister said work to establish the university was moving rapidly. A vice-chancellor has already been appointed and some financial allocations have been made. Several sites for a permanent campus have been inspected.

“We don’t want to destroy farmland. This is a big problem in the country,” he said. “You have to think big — only then can you achieve big things. That’s how we’ve worked quickly to establish this university.”

He urged that the institution be developed to an international standard. “A university means a world-class educational institution. We must keep pace with the world.”

The minister described the project as a source of pride for Thakurgaon. “It’s your university. We are old now, but our dream and aspiration is that one day this will become a central university. The most meritorious will work here. There will be no political interference.”