A section of Dhaka University (DU) students yesterday protested the "illegal enrolment” of 34 former and incumbent Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders into a specific department of the Faculty of Business Studies.

The protesters, at a human chain, demanded resignation of DU Vice-Chancellor and the concerned faculty dean as they allegedly helped the BCL leaders to get admission into Master of Accountancy in Taxation, a two-year evening masters course under the faculty.

They held a protest rally at the base of Raju Memorial Sculpture at DU, following a media report which unveiled that all those BCL leaders got enrolled into the university ahead of Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) election without any admission test or viva voce.

Eight of them were elected in Ducsu and hall unions.

Speaking at the human chain, Hasan Al Mamun, convener of Bangladesh Shadharan Chhatra Adhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad - a platform that spearheaded the quota reform protest last year - said, "Enrolment in DU requires an admission test. But before the Ducsu polls, the VC along with the concerned Dean Shibli Rubayat UI Islam facilitated the leaders of a particular student body by signing a piece of paper instead of holding admission test."

"What they have done is clearly unehtical. We are demanding resignation of both [VC and dean], and reelection to the posts by vacating those where the Chhatra League leaders were earlier elected," Mamun added.

Around 50 students of DU joined to express solidarity with the protesters.

After the announcement of the Ducsu and hall union polls schedule was made on February 11, these former and current leaders of BCL got enrolled under MTM to carry on their studentship; the admission test was held on November 30, 2018, according to the media report.

The two-year programme was launched in mid-2017.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Chhatra Union condemned the role of VC and concerned dean and demanded exemplary punishment of the involved.

"We have been saying that those who were elected through vote robbery and rigging cannot be the representatives of students. What can be expected from Ducsu whose seven members do not have studentship? We hope the university authorities will identify the main culprit through proper investigation," read a press statement of Chhatra Union.

Pragatisheel Chhatra Jote, an alliance of left-leaning student organisations, also brought out a torch procession demanding dissolution of the "illegal Ducsu".