Political activities will continue to be disallowed on private university campuses even if the student wings of political parties form committees, the Association of Private Universities of Bangladesh (APUB) has said.
“The same notice will be effective for all political parties. No political activities can be organized inside the university campuses. It is up to [the political parties] to make political committees, but we will take strict action if any kind of political activity is seen on the campus,” APUB Chairman Sheikh Kabir Hossain told Dhaka Tribune recently.
He added that political programs had not yet been organized at any private universities, but the APUB would take immediate action if such programs were held.
Sheikh Kabir's comments came when he was asked for his reaction to the BNP student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal's announcement on November 14 that it would form committees at 80% of the country's private universities.
The Chhatra Dal decided to form the committees after the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, announced the formation of committees at several private universities on September 3.
North South University, Independent University Bangladesh (IUB), BRAC University, American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB), Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, and East West University are among the universities that have Chhatra League committees. The Chhatra Dal has already formed partial committees at nine private universities, including North South University, Daffodil University, and Independent University.
Also read: Student politics at private universities: What you need to know
Chhatra Dal Private University unit President Md Abu Huraira said: “After 2013, we are once again forming committees, but we do not have full committees yet. Since there are many students at public universities in the country, we have decided that these students will play an active role in the movement of the BNP across the country.”
He also said that the Chhatra Dal units of private universities had been asked to submit draft lists of the full committees within 15 working days.
The other six private universities that have partial Chhatra Dal committees are: European University of Bangladesh, Uttara University, Stamford University, Bangladesh Islamic University, World University of Bangladesh, and University of Asia Pacific.
The list was published in a press release signed by Zahid Hasan, secretary of the Private University unit of the Chhatra Dal.
The leaders said they were concerned about the safety of their members, claiming some were attacked following the announcement of the committees, but they still wanted to harness the power of this student body for the BNP movement.
“These committees will work to fulfill the demands of the general students of the university. That is the aim of the committees,” Huraira said.
