JKKNIU students boycott classes, exams over campus clash

Students of the Department of English Language and Literature at Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University (JKKNIU) have boycotted classes and examinations, demanding disciplinary action against those involved in a clash between two groups of students and public disclosure of the university administration's decisions.

Students from all batches of the department began the programme on Friday (November 6).

They said the administration had yet to announce a final decision despite assurances that an investigation report would be submitted and disciplinary proceedings initiated. They are demanding swift action against those involved in the violence and transparency regarding the administration's decisions.

The students said they would continue boycotting academic activities until the administration announces its final decision and makes the outcome of the disciplinary process public.

Department student Adnan Habib Nishat said Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain had earlier assured them that a meeting of the disciplinary committee would be convened immediately after receiving the investigation report.

In light of that assurance, the students have now placed specific demands before the administration, he said.

Nishat demanded that the decisions and disciplinary outcomes be made public immediately after the disciplinary committee meeting. If an immediate announcement is not possible, the administration should urgently convene a Syndicate meeting to finalise the decision, he added.


A dispute reportedly began over a football match being played on an adjacent field and later escalated into a clash between two groups of students.

The following day, on October 15, the university administration formed a seven-member investigation committee and asked it to submit a report with recommendations within five working days.

However, the committee had not submitted its report even 20 days after the incident.

Professor Dr Md Ashraful Alam, a member of the investigation committee and director of the Student Counselling and Guidance Office, said academic commitments had made it difficult to interview all those concerned at the same time.

He also cited the time required to review video footage, identify those involved in the clash and record statements from relevant individuals.

"We hope to submit the investigation report by next Monday or Tuesday. Around 99 per cent of the investigation has been completed. Only the written preparation of the report remains," he said.

Earlier, on October 28, students staged a sit-in in front of the university's administrative building over the delay.

During the protest, Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain assured them that the investigation report, along with its recommendations, would be placed before the disciplinary board. Final decisions on disciplinary action would subsequently be taken through the university Syndicate, he said.