CUET Paralysed by Complete Shutdown as Students Demand VC’s Removal
Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) has come to a standstill as students launched an all-out movement to protest the removal of Vice-Chancellor Professor Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem just 56 days after his appointment for a four-year term. Academic activities, including classes and examinations, have been suspended due to the students’ “complete shutdown” and a work abstention by teachers. The students said they would continue their movement until Professor Dr. Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem is reinstated. The teachers have also made the same demand. The CUET Officers’ Association, Employees’ Association and several other organisations have expressed solidarity with the movement.
As soon as the announcement of the change of vice-chancellor came on Monday night, students began protesting on the campus. After rallies and demonstrations continued until midnight, protesting students locked the main gate of CUET at around 8:30am on Tuesday and resumed their demonstrations. They announced a “complete shutdown.”
The protesting students said, “The gazette notification on the change of the VC must be cancelled. The VC must be returned to his position. He was appointed for four years. After he completes his full term, a new VC will be appointed. This is our only demand. Our complete shutdown programme will continue.” At around 10:30am, the CUET Teachers’ Association formed a human chain in front of the vice-chancellor’s building. Most teachers took part in the programme. The teachers said the process through which Professor Mr. Sayem was removed from office was insulting to the teaching community.
They said that after Mr. Abu Sayem was appointed vice-chancellor, students, teachers and others welcomed him. The university’s activities were running normally under his leadership. However, they said his sudden removal without any reason was insulting to the teaching community. The Teachers’ Association announced a work abstention from the human chain. As a result of the situation, the university’s academic and administrative activities came to a halt. CUET buses also remained off the roads.
CUET Registrar Professor Humayun Kabir said the human chain was organised following a decision taken at a general meeting of the Teachers’ Association. He said the teachers were united in demanding the reinstatement of the recently removed vice-chancellor. On July 27, after the BNP formed the government, Professor Dr. Sayem of CUET’s Department of Mechanical Engineering was appointed vice-chancellor for a four-year term. He took charge on July 28. After 56 days, he was removed on Monday and Professor Dr. Sheikh Shariful Alam of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) was appointed as the new vice-chancellor.
Following the gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Education on Monday evening, widespread anger spread among CUET students. The CUET campus became tense with rallies and demonstrations late into the night over the “removal” of the vice-chancellor. Hundreds of students came out of different residential halls and gathered in front of the Central Shaheed Minar on campus. The VC’s building was locked. After protesting until 12:30am, the students returned to their halls.
At a press conference yesterday, the protesting students said Professor Mr. Sayem had gained the confidence of ordinary students within a short time of taking office through direct communication with students, willingness to listen to their problems, quick initiatives on academic and administrative matters, and student-friendly behaviour. They said, “At a time when the continuity of the initiatives taken by him at the university was needed, such a sudden change without any explanation is unacceptable to the students of CUET. We want to make it clear—our objection is not against the newly appointed person; our objection is to the decision to replace Professor Sayem Sir after only 56 days without any visible explanation.”
The students said intense anger spread across the campus immediately after news of the gazette notification became public. At around 10:30pm, a spontaneous protest procession began from Swadhinata Chattar. The procession passed through various academic buildings, residential halls and teachers’ residential areas. Although regular entry restrictions were in place at the women’s residential halls after 8pm, many female students left their halls around 11pm and joined the protest. With large participation from students of different batches and residential halls, the entire campus became a centre of protest.
After the procession, the students gathered again at Swadhinata Chattar and later went to the VC’s building and locked its doors. They said this was the students’ first immediate programme in protest against the sudden decision.
Emergency Meeting and Unanimous Decision
Following the night’s protests, the students held an emergency meeting and unanimously decided to continue the movement until their demand to retain Professor Dr. Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem as CUET vice-chancellor is met. The students said their position was clear: the recently issued gazette notification regarding the appointment must be cancelled and a new gazette notification must be issued reinstating Professor Mr. Sayem as CUET vice-chancellor.
They said, “Do not ignore this clear, widespread and spontaneous position of the students of CUET and take an effective decision immediately. The way to restore the university’s normal academic and administrative environment is to quickly and acceptably resolve the demands announced by the students. Until our demands are met, our all-out shutdown, mass sit-in and protest programmes will continue.”
