CUET protests: Some in government see political links, students disagree

A stalemate has persisted for 22 days at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) over protests demanding the reinstatement of former vice-chancellor (VC) Professor Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Monday, 21 days after his appointment, the new vice-chancellor, Professor Sheikh Shariful Alam, entered the university accompanied by Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) leaders.

As of 10:30 am today, Tuesday, when this report was being written, protesting students were keeping him confined. Students say they will not call off their protests until the new VC resigns and the former VC is reinstated. Overall, the situation has become increasingly complicated.

Amid the circumstances, the government’s lack of any visible initiative to resolve the university’s crisis has raised questions. Some at the government’s policymaking level believe there may be political involvement behind the protests.

Some policymakers also believe politics was behind the protests over the appointment of a new VC at Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET) in Gazipur last May, as well as the movement against the VC at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) during the interim government.

The protesting students at CUET, however, say their movement has no connection with party politics. They say they are protesting with the university’s academic environment and students’ interests in mind. According to them, students have joined the movement spontaneously.

Several sources at CUET claim that rivalries among local leaders of the ruling party in Chattogram may have influenced the appointment and replacement of the VC. There is also discussion on campus that the change in the VC post was driven by the leaders’ preferences.

In addition, the decision to appoint a teacher from another university as the VC instead of someone from CUET’s own faculty has also prompted reactions among a section of the teachers and students.

Professor Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem of CUET’s Department of Mechanical Engineering was appointed VC by the BNP government on 27 July. Just 56 days after he took office, he was relieved of his duties on 21 September, and Professor Sheikh Shariful Alam of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) was appointed as the new VC.

Students began protesting that night in response to the decision and locked the VC’s residence. A complete shutdown began the following day, 22 September. Teachers, officers and employees also started a work stoppage with the same demand. As a result, classes and examinations at the university have remained suspended for more than three weeks.

To find out what steps the government was taking to resolve the situation, Prothom Alo spoke to a person involved in government policymaking. The policymaker said that a university vice-chancellor’s position was an administrative one and that the government would consider who would be best suited to run the university.

Students could protest over problems in classrooms or other education-related issues. However, the policymaker believed it was not appropriate for the students to protest against the decision of a vice-chancellor’s appointment.

The person added that they believed the CUET protests might have political links. In his view, the protests over the appointment of vice-chancellors at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology and, Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology also had political connections.

However, a student involved in the protests told Prothom Alo Tuesday morning that their movement had no connection with party politics. The protest was aimed at protecting the university’s academic environment and students’ interests, the student said.

According to the student, if party politics were involved, only one group of students would have taken part. Instead, students were participating in the movement spontaneously. Under the current circumstances, the student sees the reinstatement of former vice-chancellor Professor Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem as the solution.

People associated with CUET say it is concerning that an institution of higher education has remained paralysed for days on end. This is affecting students’ studies and academic lives, while also disrupting the university’s normal operations. In their view, the government should take prompt and effective action to resolve the stalemate rather than allow the crisis to drag on.

A CUET student told Prothom Alo that they, too, wanted to return to classes. If the stalemate continued, there was a risk of session backlogs, the student said. They therefore wanted the prime minister to intervene to resolve the crisis.