Protest enters 14th day demanding reinstatement of VC

CHATTOGRAM Oct 5: The protest of the students and teachers of the Chattogram University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) demanding the reinstatement of former vice-chancellor Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem has entered its 14th day on Monday, keeping the university’s academic and administrative activities shut.

Students continued their shutdown programme, while the CUET Teachers’ Association and staff associations maintained their work stoppage and held a human chain.

Speaking during the human chain, CUET Controller of Examinations Md Moinul Islam said teachers had been demanding Prof Sayem’s reinstatement for a long time and urged the government to act quickly so students could return to class.

In his speech he claimed that their protest was peaceful, with no road blockades or violence, and teachers wanted the government to recognise their demand and create a way for classes to resume.

Delaying the students’ academic activities, Prof Moinul said that the lost time could be recovered through adjustments during term breaks and long holidays.

He said teachers could coordinate with students during those periods to make up for every day lost because of the shutdown. 

Earlier on Monday, teachers, officers and employees marched from in front of the vice-chancellor’s building around 12:30pm.

The procession went through Swadhinata Chattar and ended at the university’s Shaheed Minar.

Teachers who had supported students since the beginning of the movement were greeted with flowers on the occasion of Teachers’ Day.

Students had earlier held a torch procession, displayed red cards and protested with black cloth tied over their eyes, among other programmes to demand Prof Sayem’s reinstatement.

All academic activities, including classes and examinations, have remained suspended since September 22 because of the protest.

Sayem, a professor of mechanical engineering at CUET, took charge as vice-chancellor on July 27.

He was relieved on September 21, and Prof Sheikh Shariful Alam of the electronics and communication engineering department at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) was named in his place.

Students began protesting on campus that night, 56 days into Sayem's tenure, and announced a shutdown with a boycott of classes and exams from Sept 22.

Prof Alam joined the post online at about 4pm on September 24, amid the protests, but had not visited the campus as of Friday.