Students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) will continue their movement until the vice-chancellor of the university is removed from his post.
The students would continue their demonstrations through cultural activities and drawing Alpana (a form of painting) to press home their one-point demand, said SUST students Samiul Ehsan and Mohaiminul Bashar while briefing the media on the campus at around 4:00pm on Friday.
The students thanked prime minister for facilitating treatment of the students who were injured in the police attack on 16 January and fell ill while observing hunger strike.
The press briefing said the prime minister has arranged better treatment for SUST student Sajal Kundu in Dhaka. Sajal was hit with 83 splinters on his body during police attack on students.
The students also thanked education minister for her interest to visit the campus to talk with the demonstrating students.
They said they are eagerly waiting to welcome the minister and share their grievances with her.
Student Muhaiminul Basar said, “We will continue our demonstration—through painting roads and organising regular cultural event—until the VC is resigned. We have changed the language [form] of our movement.”
As a part of the cultural movement, the university’s cultural organisations ‘Rim’ and ‘Nonggor’ sang protesting songs on Thursday night at the Golchattor. Earlier in the evening, students set up a protesting tong [makeshift tea stall] on the campus titled ‘Illiterate Tong’ [Cashabhusa Tong].
The students started a hunger strike on the university campus on 19 January, demanding the resignation of VC Farid Uddin Ahmed over police crackdown on their fellows.
Around 10.20am on 26 January, the students broke their fasting after seven days as the former SUST professor Muhammad Zafar Iqbal offered them water to drink.
The eminent writer and his wife Yasmeen Haque, also a former SUST teacher, came to the university in Sylhet from Dhaka around 4:00am and met the protesting students.