Students of Dhaka City College took to the streets on Monday, demanding the resignation of acting principal Md Neyamul Haque and Vice-Principal Mokhlesur Rahman, whom they claim were appointed illegally.
The students are also calling for the reinstatement of the college’s legitimate principal.
The protest, which began around 12pm on Monday in front of the college, caused a one-hour traffic stoppage on Mirpur Road in the Science Lab area.
The protest was dispersed around 1pm after army personnel intervened and urged students to clear the road for traffic.
At around 1:15pm, a student protester named Shahriar said: “We are demanding five points, including the resignation of the acting principal and vice-principal. We are now heading to the principal’s office for a meeting.”
The unrest follows an incident on August 7, when Principal Prof Bedar Uddin reportedly signed a resignation letter under pressure, allowing English Department teacher Prof Md Neyamul Haque to assume the role of acting principal.
Marketing Department teacher Mokhlesur Rahman was appointed as vice-principal the same day.
Students allege that Prof Neyamul Haque enlisted anti-discrimination students to support his appointment as acting principal.
Shortly after assuming office on August 7, he called an emergency meeting for the next day.
On August 11, he issued an order declaring the principal and six teachers “unwanted” in the college.
Those teachers include Md Delwar Hossain from the Bengali Department, Farida Parveen from Psychology, Chaitali Halder from Geography, Ahsan Habib Raja from Accounting, and Kaykobad Sarkar and Al Faisal Akhtar from Islamic History and Culture.
The “unwanted” teachers claim they were unfairly targeted without explanation.
The students also accuse the administration of suspending Associate Professor Md Jahangir Alam Suman from the Computer Science Department on what they describe as fabricated charges, sparking further anger and unrest on campus.
Reports indicate that a total of 16 staff members have been dismissed over the past three months, heightening concern and frustration among teachers and students alike.
The students have outlined five key demands including immediate reinstatement of suspended teacher Md Jahangir Alam Suman, resignation of the acting principal and vice-principal within the next 30 minutes and the reinstatement of Prof Bedar Uddin by the end of the day, an end to alleged political interference among teachers under the guise of college reform, a halt to harassment of parents and students, and cessation of fees for extra classes, which they allege resemble business coaching centres.
