The election for the Teachers' Association at Jahangirnagar University (JU) is set to take place on Wednesday.
However, Touhid Mohammad Siam, member secretary of the university's anti-discrimination student movement, has announced to resist the election of the teachers' association before the Jucsu election.
On Tuesday, Touhid made this announcement in two separate posts on social media platform Facebook. Responding to this declaration, the current president of the Teachers' Association, Prof Md Motaher Hossain, urged students to extend their support for the upcoming election in another Facebook post.
In one of his posts, Touhid Mohammad Siam said: "Stop tomorrow's (Wednesday) JU Teachers' Association election. Jucsu first, then everything else."
In another post shortly afterward, he added: "The Teachers' Association election is scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday). In the past, representatives of other stakeholders were elected without first ensuring student representation, the largest stakeholder group. This time, it will not happen. No elections will be allowed at the university before the Jucsu election. Jucsu first, then everything else. Anyone who attempts to act against the will of the students will face consequences."
Responding to these statements, Professor Motaher Hossain, the current president of the Teachers' Association, sought cooperation from all stakeholders and told Dhaka Tribune: "We fully agree with the students' demand for the immediate holding of the Jucsu election. The Teachers' Association has repeatedly urged the administration to take action on this. Even today (Thursday), we requested the honourable Vice-Chancellor to immediately form an election commission for Jucsu. I hope the students understand that we are not against them and there is no involvement from the administration in this election."
In an earlier Facebook post, Professor Hossain also wrote: "The JU Teachers' Association has repeatedly pressed the administration for Jucsu elections. We are the only teachers' association in Bangladesh that has supported various movements. Moreover, 14 out of 15 positions in the Teachers' Association have already been filled, and tomorrow’s (Wednesday) election is for the remaining post only. Additionally, the administration has no involvement in this election—it is entirely a matter for the teachers. So, I urge the students not to put the student-teacher relationship at risk, rather build a movement for the Jucsu election together. I seek cooperation from the student leaders to hold the election tomorrow (Wednesday)."
In light of the situation, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, JU branch, issued a statement on Tuesday evening.
Signed by Chief Organizer Nakib Al Mahmud Arnob, the statement reads: "We call for the suspension of the Teachers' Association election until a clear roadmap for the Jucsu election is presented and justice is ensured for the teachers involved in previous attacks. Otherwise, the students of Jahangirnagar University will be forced to take a firm stance."
