Digital Governance Drive: Prof. Dr. Sohel Takes Charge as Acting DG of DSHE
Professor Dr. Khan Moinuddin Al Mahmud Sohel, an educator risen from the classroom and a skilled administrator, has been assigned the additional charge of Director General (DG) of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE).
The responsibility was conferred through a notification issued on Thursday by the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education. His appointment is being viewed as a positive step toward restoring dynamism at DSHE, overcoming a prolonged period of stagnation and administrative vacuum.
Stakeholders say that the top position at DSHE had remained without a regular Director General for the past six months, creating a leadership crisis that is expected to be resolved through Professor Dr. Sohel’s appointment.
According to the ministry’s notification regarding the additional charge, Professor Dr. Khan Moinuddin Al Mahmud Sohel has been granted the authority of Director General, including financial powers, under Volume-1, Rule-66 of the Treasury and Subsidiary Rules, until a regular DG is appointed.
A member of the 16th BCS batch, he is currently serving as Director of the Secondary Wing of DSHE. In addition to performing the routine duties of the DG, he will now be able to exercise financial authority.
Over the past 17 years, he has faced significant discriminations due to political reasons. Having served as Assistant Private Secretary (APS) to the then State Minister for Education Dr. A.N.M. Ehsanul Hoque Milan during the 2001–2006 tenure, he was reportedly deprived of key postings and promotions throughout the tenure of the Awami League government.
In 2009, within the first week following the change in government, he was made an Officer on Special Duty (OSD). Subsequently, he was transferred to institutions in remote districts, including Bhola Government College, Jamalpur Madarganj Government College, and Dinajpur Government College. For more than one and a half decades, he was unable even to apply for a transfer to Dhaka. In 2013, he contested for the post of General Secretary from a BNP-backed panel in the BCS General Education Association election.
Professor Dr. Md. Masud Rana Khan, Member Secretary of the BCS General Education Association, said that Dr. Sohel is playing a significant role in rebuilding the education administration, which had deteriorated during the previous Hasina government. He added that Dr. Sohel’s administrative expertise and long experience would support the current government’s education reform agenda.
Professor Mohammad Monir Hossain Patwary, Director of the Finance and Procurement Wing of DSHE, described Dr. Sohel as a visionary leader. He noted that, having risen directly from the classroom and worked across all levels of education administration, Dr. Sohel has an in-depth understanding of grassroots challenges and their solutions.
Dr. Sohel completed his SSC from Cumilla Cadet College in 1984 and HSC from Cumilla Victoria College in 1986. He later pursued higher education in the Department of Zoology at the University of Dhaka and obtained his PhD from Jahangirnagar University. He was also awarded a UGC Fellowship. On 30 September 2024, he joined DSHE as Director (Secondary), and on 10 January 2025, he was unanimously nominated as Convener of the Education Cadre Association.
DBTech/SIR/MUIM/OR
