The teachers at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, who have been demanding the removal of the vice-chancellor for months, have decided to suspend the ongoing demonstrations but officially disclosed no reason for making the move.
In a statement on Thursday night, Dr Syed Shamsul Alam, convener of Mohan Muktijuddher Chetonai Udbuddho Shikkhok Forum that organised the demonstrations, announced the suspension of the anti-VC protests.
He also said the protesting teachers would not be involved in affairs concerning how the upcoming undergraduate admission tests would be held.
Since April, the forum has been calling for the removal of the vice-chancellor, Dr Md Aminul Haque Bhuyan, after accusing him of involvement in corruption and nepotism, and being incompetent.
On condition of anonymity, a member of the forum said the protesting teachers were not receiving as much support as they expected they would from senior educators of the institution as well as the ruling party.
“This has led to a division among the protesters while the vice-chancellor is actually being backed by the government in different ways. The teachers have largely been dispirited by this and the decision to suspend protests followed almost naturally,” he said.
He also said protests were called off so that the upcoming admission tests were not disrupted in any way even though the protesting teachers would play no role in organising the examinations.
On April 13, a heated altercation with the vice-chancellor took place when a group of 19 teachers met him to discuss ways for resolving difficulties related to the space of an academic building.
The teachers then issued an ultimatum seeking the vice-chancellor’s resignation by April 19 but a total of 35 teachers, including famed author Dr Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, stepped down from 37 administrative posts when the vice-chancellor did not comply.
The mass resignations intensified protests in the following months.
