JU students and administration agree on terms to end standoff

The long-standing tension between students and the administration of Jahangirnagar University may finally see an end. JU Proctor Prof Tapan Kumar Saha said they had come to a reasonable and respectful solution based on mutual understanding of both the parties. The decision came after a series of meetings held from Thursday evening to early Friday. After the meeting, Vice-Chancellor Dr Farzana Islam said: “We have taken a decision which will bring good for both the teachers and students.” The vice-chancellor also bade thanks to the teachers’ association for its role in mitigating the tension. General Secretary of the university’s teachers’ association Associate Prof Farid Ahmed said: “We had always been looking for a respectful solution and we got the required support from the teachers and students.” “It will remain as an example for the university in the coming days,” he added. General Secretary of Socialist Students Front JU unit Sushmita Marium said: “The ongoing protest has been called off, as a respectful solution of the crisis is under process.”   Jahangirnagar students blocked the Dhaka-Aricha Highway on May 27, a day after two of the university’s students were killed in a road accident, demanding compensation for the victims’ families and making the roads safer. Police fired rubber bullets and used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, leaving a number of students injured. The agitated students vandalised the VC’s residence that evening. Several teachers claimed the students had harassed them too. The university accused more than 50 students of vandalism and harassing teachers in a case filed that night. Forty-two students were initially arrested but were later released on bail. The students have been observing various protest programmes at the university premises since then.