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Protests at Public Univs

Academic activities severely hampered

Mohiuddin Aiamgir
Academic activities at some public universities have been thrown into disarray due to unrest over different issues, including allegations of vice-chancellors' involvement in irregularities and corruption.
With no immediate solution in sight, thousands of students of these universities are facing disruptions in their academic life.
Take the case of Jahangirnagar University.
Many students and teachers have been agitating on the campus since September 18, demanding the resignation of VC Prof Farzana Islam over her alleged involvement in corruption and mismanagement of a Tk 1,445-crore campus development project.
Academic activities have been disrupted from the day the agitation began. The authorities on Tuesday shut down the university for an indefinite period and ordered the students to vacate the dormitories. Most of the students have already left the dorms.
Prof Farzana denies her involvement in any graft or irregularities.
At Buet, students have been boycotting classes and tests for over a month, demanding punishment for the killers of Abrar Fahad.
Abrar, a second-year student, was beaten to death by a group of Chhatra League men at a university dormitory between the night of October 6 and early hours of October 7.
The protesters said Abrar became a victim of BCL ragging that plagued the university halls mainly due to negligence from the Buet authorities, including VC Prof Saiftil Islam.
At Pabna University of Science and Technology, students have been skipping classes since October 28, demanding the removal of the VC, Prof Rostom Ali, over allegations of graft and irregularities.
A few days earlier, an audio clip of an alleged conversation between the VC and a person seeking a job at the university had gone viral.
In the clip, the job seeker is heard telling the VC to return Tk 8 lakh which he had given as bribe. The job seeker is also heard saying he did not pass the recruitment test.
Prof Rostom said the clip is fake. "A vested quarter is after my image. They are spreading falsehood for personal gains," he told reporters.
Meanwhile, a group of Rajshahi University teachers, under the banner of "Teachers' Society Against Corruption", have been forming
human chains on the campus every Monday and Thursday since October 3, demanding the removal of VC Prof M Abdus Sobhan and Pro-VC Prof Choudhury Zakaria over different allegations.
The teachers are irked by the VC's "Jai Hind" remark at a programme on September 26. They also alleged that the pro-VC took a bribe to recruit a teacher.
Prof Zakaria denies the allegation.
Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet) was closed for an indefinite period on November 1 after students of two dormitories clashed over a football match, leaving six injured.
Earlier, the authorities ofBarishal University kept the university closed for 11 days since March 28 following student protests sparked by a remark by the then VC SM Imamul Haque.
On March 26, the teacher allegedly called a group of students "Razakar-er Bachcha [children of Razakar,", said the protesters.
Prof Imamul, however, denied the allegation and said the students became agitated after the university hosted a lunch programme on the Independence Day only for some distinguished guests.
In Gopalganj, students of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman Science and Technology University have also been staging protests since Tuesday, demanding the authorities lower different fees at the university.
Academic activities at the university had been hampered for 12 days in September after students held protests demanding removal of VC Khondoker Md Nasiruddin over allegations of irregularities and corruption.
A UGC probe committee at that time found evidence of irregularities and corruption against the VC and recommended his removal.
The VC resigned on September 30.
Talking to The Daily Star, University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Prof Kazi Shahidullah and Professor Emeritus of Dhaka University Serajul Islam Choudhury expressed concerns over the academic impasse at the universities.
They said the protests could lead to session jams at the highest educational institutions.
Asked about the allegations of corruption and irregularities against the VCs, the UGC chairman said, "These allegations are subject to investigation. You must consider someone innocent unless any allegation is proved to be true."
He also said VCs have certain
responsibilities and they could not use abusive words. "This is unexpected," he said.
Kazi Shahidullah said they did not want any disorder at the universities as that could lead to disruption in the students' academic life.
He also said they usually leave it to the university authorities to solve their own problems. "But now, we are thinking about holding meetings with them before taking any step."
Serajul Islam Choudhury said, "Students are the victims. There are possibilities that the universities will experience session jams."
He also said there were hardly any corruption allegations against VCs in the past. "Such allegations are surfacing now as the teachers are getting involved in various development activities on the campuses."
Meanwhile, rights group Ain
o Salish Kendra in a statement yesterday said unrest at public
universities was seriously
hampering the academic
atmosphere there.
It called for impartial investigations into the allegations against the university administrations, including the vice-chancellors.