BCL men now force suspension of entire 2nd year exam

Just three days after postponing one course's exam, Chittagong University's (CU) fine arts institute yesterday suspended holding the entire second year finals after 10 of its rooms were locked allegedly by Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists demanding that a suspended fellow be allowed to sit.

The first postponement came on April 4 when Mofazzal Haydar Mofa and some 30 of his fellows locked two exam rooms over the demand, said a teacher of the institute and assistant proctor, Pranab Mittra.

Mofazzal was suspended for one year on December 31, 2015 for his involvement in a BCL factional clash on November 2, 2015, the institute's director, Nasima Akhter, told The Daily Star.

Against the backdrop of clashes between the president and general secretary's followers, BCL's two-member CU unit was suspended on February 10 by the pro-ruling party student organisation's central committee for "violating organisational discipline".

The CU authorities are yet to take any step over the locking incidents with Vice Chancellor Prof Iftekhar Uddin yesterday assuring to hold a meeting of the health and disciplinary committee in this regard "soon".

The institute is situated in Chittagong city's Badsha Mia road, some 22 kilometres away from the CU campus.

Yesterday some 50 BCL activists gathered at the institute around 9:00am and requested that Mofazzal be allowed to take the exam, said Nasima.

Being denied, they locked the rooms, including classrooms, exam halls, a gallery room and an administrative office, and opened those two hours later after the postponement was declared, she said.

Mofazzal could not be contacted for comment. The suspended CU BCL unit's president, Mohammad Alamgir Tipu, claimed they would prevent holding of exams if the demand was not met.