Their three key demands are: abolishing the ward quota entirely, bringing fascist teachers, students, and staff under justice, and publicly demanding an explanation from the vice-chancellor and registrar for appointing two controversial teachers as assistant proctors.
Tensions also arose between students and staff when students attempted to break the lock with a crowbar during the protest.
Around 7pm, several individuals trapped inside the administration building tried to break the lock with a crowbar, injuring a student outside. This created tension between the two sides.
Chanting slogans like "against ward quota, we will fight together" (Poshyo kotar biruddhe, lorai hobe ekshathe), "no compromise, only struggle" (Aposh na songram, songram songram), and "no more tears for the meritorious" (Medhabider kanna, ar na ar na), students expressed their dissatisfaction with the administration's inaction.
The protesters said: "We will not accept any form of ward quota. Our movement will continue until this quota is entirely abolished. If no clear decision is made, the administrative building will remain closed indefinitely."
Salahuddin Ammar, RU coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said: "We demand the complete abolition of all quotas in this university. The administration failed to take action despite our deadline yesterday, leaving us no choice but to intensify our protest."
Another student, Kamrul Islam Sajib, also said: "Our primary mandate in July was to eliminate the quota system. The administration that assumed office on principles of fairness has now failed us. We demand immediate action to abolish this quota system today."
Following student protests, RU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Professor Farid Uddin Khan said: "Any movement should follow democratic principles. Protests should not infringe upon the rights of others."
On the other hand, Mohammad Moktar Hossain, acting president of the Officers' Association, said: "We will meet with the vice-chancellor on Sunday. If he does not meet our demands, we will organize a human chain on Monday, a sit-in protest on Tuesday, and a full-day strike on Wednesday. If there is no solution, we will go for continuous protests and declare a complete shutdown."
Over a hundred students from various departments and outside the university have attended the protest.
The protest comes after the administration revised the quota system on Wednesday, limiting it to 1% for children of supportive and general staff, excluding those of teachers and officials. However, students rejected the revised decision and locked the building to press their demands.
