Honour's academic activities at Cuet suspended for unrest

Against the backdrop of students' agitations over demands, including that for a teacher's resignation, the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (Cuet) through an emergency meeting yesterday suspended academic activities of honour's courses for an indefinite period "fearing deterioration of the law and order situation".

Male students were to vacate halls by 3:00pm yesterday while female students by 10:00am today, as per Assistant Director (Public Relations) Fazlur Rahman. 

The demonstrations, including sit-ins and rallies, and class and exam boycotts were sparked, as per the agitators, from April 3 when some 40 students had formed a human chain at Gol Chattar on the campus protesting the death of a student in a road accident.

Md Mohaiminul Islam, a 5th year student of architecture, died after a motorised three-wheeler human hauler he was on was hit by a bus on the Chittagong-Kaptai road on March 29.

The demonstrators claimed that Student Welfare Director Prof Ashutose Saha harassed them and threatened to use police to charge baton and disperse them, something the accused vehemently denied.

The next day, the agitators kept Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Md Jahangir Alam confined to his office for around four hours and locked classrooms and the administrative office, as per sources on the campus.

The university authorities later that day sat with 30 of the agitating students but the meeting bore no fruit, they added.

Yesterday, the demonstrators organised a press conference at Chittagong Press Club and placed a nine-point demand, including the one for the resignation, arrest of the bus driver and ensuring safe transportation facilities. 

The VC said they were talking to all authorities concerned to meet the demands and that this required time.