The administrative activities of Jahangirnagar University have come to a halt due to the ongoing teachers’ movement demanding the resignation of the vice-chancellor.
University authorities, teachers and students along with officials are facing severe problems as the Jahangirnagar University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) has been continuing the administrative building blockade programme for the last two weeks.
Official sources said two syndicate meetings and an annual senate meeting were foiled due to the ongoing unrest at the university. Academic council is not being able to have any sitting, resulting many important decisions for deferent faculties, departments and institutes pending for a long time.
But the classes and examinations are running peacefully as JUTA withdrew its work abstention programme considering students’ interest on June 19.
Teachers and students of the university alleged that both the authorities and agitated teachers are not concerned about the university’s welfare, as none of them has shown the minimum cordiality to eliminate the crisis yet.
They claimed that many of them failed to complete their emergency academic and institutional activities and their important papers were confined at registrar’s office as it is locked since June 20.
Ahsan Habib, a final year student of the English Department said: “Many departments have already finished the courses and are quite ready for examination but authorities are yet to fix the exam date due to the ongoing movement.”
“The authorities and teachers are both responsible for the ongoing crisis and government should concentrate on JU immediately to avert a huge crisis,” Habib added.
On the other hand, several junior teachers of the university, willing to go abroad for higher studies, told the Dhaka Tribune that they are ready to go but cannot take the study leave due to the teachers’ registrar’s office blockade programme.
On condition of anonymity, a lecturer of the university said: “Our higher studies became uncertain as we cannot contact the authorities for study leave due to teachers’ movement.”
Meanwhile, JUTA rejected an invitation for talks from the authority, saying that they would not sit for talks with any authority led by incumbent VC Prof Anowar Hoaasin. JUTA also said they would prefer to hold talks with any third party.
Criticising JUTA’s role in the ongoing movement, Rayhan Rhyne, an associate professor of Philosophy Department, told the Dhaka Tribune: “It is offensive to play with the lucks of around 600 teachers with only 40 teachers on their side.”
“However, our authorities have faults too, as they do not seem willing to eliminate the problem since they did not punish the university’s Chhatra League general secretary for assaulting a teacher,” he added.
JUTA has been continuing the movement to oust the VC for over three months, saying that the VC failed to arrange adequate punishment against the Chhatra League general secretary for his alleged involvement in assaulting a teacher.
