Students of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (Cuet) have enforced a “complete shutdown” on campus, protesting the removal of Vice-Chancellor Professor Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem and demanding his reinstatement.
The shutdown began Tuesday morning after students locked the university’s main gate around 8:30am and staged a sit-in. Classes, examinations and other academic activities across the university were halted, while administrative and official activities were also disrupted.
The students said they would continue their protest until Sayem is reinstated.
“We want Sayem Sir as our vice-chancellor. That is our only demand. He should complete his full term before leaving—not before that. We will continue our protest until this demand is met,” said Pritom Saha, a fourth-year student of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
The latest protest followed a demonstration on campus on Monday night. Around 10:30pm, students began a procession from Swadhinata Chattar, chanting slogans demanding Sayem’s reinstatement.
The procession passed various academic buildings, the female students’ hall and the teachers’ residential area before returning to Swadhinata Chattar around midnight. Students then went to the vice-chancellor’s residence and locked its entrance.
Female students also joined the procession, with many leaving their residential hall around 11pm despite the hall’s usual 8pm closing time.
At a rally following the procession, Mechanical Engineering student Ahnaf Shahriar Arnab said: “We have locked the vice-chancellor’s residence. Only Sayem Sir will be able to unlock it and enter; no one else will.”
Electrical and Electronic Engineering student Ifaz Tajwar said: “After a long time, we had found a competent vice-chancellor. Yet, he was removed without any reason being cited.”
“He was student-friendly and supported us in various areas, including academics. We have only one demand—he must be reinstated immediately,” he added.
The Cuet Teachers’ Association also held a human chain in front of the vice-chancellor’s residence at 10am Tuesday, supporting the demand for Sayem’s reinstatement.
Cuet Registrar Professor Humayun Kabir said: “Our university has a teachers’ association. Through a general meeting, they have demanded the reinstatement of the recently removed vice-chancellor. As a teacher myself, I support that demand.”
Professor Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem, a professor of Cuet’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, was appointed vice-chancellor on July 27.
After 56 days in office, he was removed on Monday. Professor Sheikh Shariful Alam of the Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet) was appointed as his replacement.
The decision prompted protests from students, who said they would continue their movement until Sayem is reinstated.
Our Chittagong correspondent Nasir Uddin Rocky contributed to the story