Dhaka, Sept. 30 -- Islami Bank Bangladesh has dismissed 200 employees and placed 4,771 others on "officer on special duty" (OSD) status after they refused to participate in a newly introduced "special competency assessment" exam.

Senior officials said the bank initially designated 4,971 employees as OSD for skipping the test. From this group, 200 were subsequently dismissed for allegedly violating service rules. Those placed on OSD will continue to receive their salaries and allowances but will have no active duties or responsibilities.

The special competency assessment was conducted on 27 September under the supervision of Dhaka University's Institute of Business Administration (IBA). Of the 5,385 employees instructed to appear, only 4...