Students hold mass signature campaign on 2nd day of CUET shutdown

Students of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) continued their shutdown for the second consecutive day on Wednesday demanding reinstatement of Prof Dr Abu Shadat Muhammad Sayem as the university’s Vice-Chancellor.

The students organised a mass signature campaign on the university’s Shaheed Minar premises in the morning keeping the university’s main gate closed.

Students were seen participating spontaneously in queues, providing their student ID numbers and signatures.

Protesters said the collected signatures would be submitted to the higher authorities.

Farhan Hasnat Adib, a third-year student of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, said VC Prof Dr Abu Shadat Muhammad Sayem was removed without prior notice on 21 September.

“We staged a protest procession that night in response. The following day, we observed a complete shutdown at CUET. Today, on the second day of our movement, we are holding the mass signature campaign,” he said.

The signatures would be sent to the higher authorities and that the students would continue their peaceful movement until their demand was met, he said.

The students also reiterated that the peaceful movement would continue until their demand is fulfilled.

Earlier on 21 September, students staged demonstrations after the authorities decided to remove Prof Dr Abu Shadat Muhammad Sayem as CUET Vice-Chancellor and appoint Prof Dr Sheikh Shariful Alam of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology as his replacement.

The protesting students later locked the VC’s residence and announced a shutdown of all academic and administrative activities at the university until further notice.