RU suspends ward quota, agitating students leave VC’s residence at 3:30am
Students of Rajshahi University protesting to abolish the ward quota left the Vice Chancellor’s residence early Saturday night at around 3:30am. They vacated the VC residence gate and Paris Road after staging demonstrations there.
Several thousand students had been protesting at the spot. Around midnight, a large number of female students also joined after coming out of their dormitories.
Facing the protests, the university authorities withdrew their earlier decision to reinstate the ward quota. This was announced in a post on the university’s official Facebook page at around 1:00am on Saturday night. It also stated that an emergency syndicate meeting would be held on Sunday (today) on the issue.
However, the protesting students rejected this announcement. They demanded that the decision be officially revoked under the executive authority of the VC, continuing their demonstration. Later, the students gradually began to disperse from the VC’s residence.
According to protesting students, they started leaving Paris Road and the VC’s residence area after 2:30am. By 3:30am, all students had left, followed by student leaders and representatives of different student organisations who had been leading the protest.
At around 3:15am on Paris Road, Prothom Alo spoke with Riad Khan, a resident student of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Hall. He said, “Since there was no further response from the administration, everyone is leaving. The syndicate meeting today will decide the matter.”
Mehedi Maruf, president of the Rajshahi University unit of Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, told Prothom Alo, “As it grew late at night, students gradually left. The administration has called an emergency syndicate meeting today on the issue. We will announce our next programme based on that decision.”
Earlier, at around 1:30am, VC Saleh Hasan Naqib came near the gate of his residence. Speaking over a loudspeaker, he said, “Institutional benefits for children of teachers, officers, and staff have been suspended. Considering the situation, an emergency syndicate meeting has been called on Sunday. I hope the institutional benefits (ward quota) will be terminated.”
The protesting students outside the gate booed while the VC spoke. The VC then went back inside his residence.