Sylhet Agricultural University
Profile
- Ownership
- public
- Vice-Chancellor
- Prof. Dr. Md. Alimul Islam
- Students
- 3000
- Faculty
- 263
- Annual budget
- —
- Established
- 2006
- District
- Sylhet
Under VC Alimul Islam (appointed October 2024), the university is operationally active but faces internal faculty tension over alleged recruitment irregularities following his appointment. SAU was not included in either the March 16, 2026 (7-university) or May 14, 2026 (11-university) VC reshuffle batches -- Alimul Islam remains in post.
Recent activity
- 2026-02-16 violence Physical confrontation between two teacher factions on campus: a group led by Prof. Dr. Md. Mozammel Haque (Dept. of Agronomy and Haor Agriculture) visited the VC's office to raise concerns over alleged irregularities in teacher recruitment, denial of promotions, and administrative overreach; they were physically attacked by supporters of VC Alimul Islam, leaving four teachers injured. VC denied wrongdoing; protesting teachers called for an impartial investigation. ↗↗
- 2026-03-01 research SAU inaugurated a Plant Health Clinic in the Department of Plant Pathology and Seed Science, funded under the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) project sub-grant. An inception workshop drew ~150 participants including faculty, agricultural extension workers, and farmers. The clinic provides hands-on diagnostics training for undergraduates and expanded research capacity for MS/PhD students. ↗
Provenance & notes
verification_status=partial: (1) student_count=3000 is a well-sourced approximation cited consistently across Wikipedia, Banglapedia, and admission portals -- exact enrolled headcount by year not published officially. (2) faculty_count=263 is from Wikipedia citing university data as of 2024; Banglapedia (an older snapshot) cited 84 -- the Wikipedia figure is more current and aligns with the university's 47-department structure. (3) annual_budget_bdt=null: no verifiable primary-source budget figure was found for SAU; the UGC university detail page (ugc-universities.gov.bd/university-detail/45) returned a certificate error and could not be accessed; budget left null rather than estimated. (4) vc_since=2024-10-17 is confirmed from Wikipedia's List of Vice-Chancellors of SAU and corroborated by The South Asian Times BD report citing 'notification issued Thursday' (Oct 17, 2024 was a Thursday). Alimul Islam was previously a professor in the Dept. of Microbiology and Hygiene at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU); postdoc from Institute of Tropical Medicine, Japan; 183 publications. (5) pro_vice_chancellor=null: no Pro-VC post holder found in any 2025-2026 source; position may be vacant. (6) treasurer=Prof. Dr. A T M Mahbub I Ilahi, confirmed via The Daily Campus report (June 28, 2025). (7) registrar=Prof. Dr. Md. Asad-ud-doullah (Acting), confirmed from sau.ac.bd/administration/page/244 -- '(A.C)' suffix indicates acting capacity. (8) campus_count=2: temporary campus at Tilagor, Sylhet (55 acres / 22 ha); permanent campus under development at Khadimnagar (200 acres / 81 ha). The About Us page also cites on-campus 20.23 ha and off-campus 4.97 ha reflecting current operational footprint vs. planned permanent site -- both sources describe physically distinct locations. (9) SAU was NOT in either the March 16, 2026 (DU, RU, CU, BOU, JnU, KUET, Dhaka Central -- 7 universities) or May 14, 2026 (BUET + 10 others) VC reshuffle batches; confirmed against full published lists. Alimul Islam is the serving VC as of verification date. (10) The 'SAU' acronym is shared with Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (sau.edu.bd, Dhaka). This record refers exclusively to Sylhet Agricultural University (sau.ac.bd, Sylhet). (11) University originated from Sylhet Government Veterinary College (established 1995), which operated as School of Life Sciences under Shahjalal University of Science and Technology before gaining independent university status in 2006. (12) The Department of Agronomy and Haor Agriculture is unique to SAU and reflects its geographic mandate in the Sylhet haor-wetland zone; SAU researchers have published on Hakaluki Haor ecosystem, fish biodiversity, and wetland LULC change.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylhet_Agricultural_University
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Vice-Chancellors_of_Sylhet_Agricultural_University
- https://sau.ac.bd/aboutus
- https://sau.ac.bd/administration
- https://sau.ac.bd/administration/page/244
- https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Sylhet_Agricultural_University
- https://www.thesouthasiantimesbd.com/education/news/24890
- https://english.thedailycampus.com/agri-university/33/international-students-of-sylhet-agricultural-university-make-their-mark-in-home-countries-vice-chancellor
- https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/291401/sau-teachers-scuffle-4-injured
- https://viewsbangladesh.com/clash-between-teacher-groups-leaves-several-injured-at-sau/
- https://www.newagebd.net/post/campus-bites/292717/sylhet-agricultural-university-launches-plant-health-clinic
- https://bangladeshpost.net/posts/sylhet-agricultural-university-included-in-fao-database-163072
- https://www.fao.org/agris/data-provider/sylhet-agricultural-university
- https://thedailycampus.com/admission-updates/170563/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A7%9F-%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%87%E0%A7%9C%E0%A6%B6-%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%A8-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A7%9C%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B2-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%9F-%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%83%E0%A6%B7%E0%A6%BF-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC
- https://www.newagebd.net/post/Country/299740/bangladesh-govt-appoints-new-vcs-in-11-public-univs
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/11-universities-get-new-vcs-4176151