A number of Jahangirnagar University students on Saturday embarked on a venture in a bid to stop what they said “dirty teachers politics” in the university.
The students made the effort of forming a human chain on Saturday and threw a two-day-long mass signature collection programme to press home their demand.
Over a hundred male students from different dormitories under the banner of “General Students” gathered at Mohuaa Tola adjacent to the new Arts Faculty building around 11am.
Most of the attendees were freshers and second year students.
They staged a demonstration and formed the human chain in front of JU administrative office.
The students urged the teachers to stop politics considering students’ interest and save the university’s academic status.
They also declared a two-day-long mass signature collection programme on the campus to raise students’ voices against the teacher politics.
A memorandum would be submitted to the probe body that began investigation into the allegations against JU Vice-Chancellor Prof Anwar Hossain in response of teachers’ agitation, said the students.
The learners held different placards that read – “Stop dirty teacher politics that spoils students’ life and keep the university session jam-free”.
At the human chain, convener Md Solaiman Islam Munna of the programme said the university teachers should think about the students’ interest, and students’ lives could not be wasted because of their politics.
“We want a session jam-free and comfortable university and call upon all teachers to refrain from academically unfriendly activities like boycotting classes and exams,” he said.
Solaiman added that they feared that teachers would again boycott classes and exams after September 24, the last day of postponement of teachers’ agitation. That’s why we have taken up programme to keep up academic activities in the university.”
On the other hand, several students and teachers of the university termed the general students programme “an arranged drama”.
A number of JU teachers claimed that the university unit Chhatra League was the mastermind of such programme.
Seeing anonymity, several students alleged that they were forced by Chhatra League to attend the programme.
Jahangirnagar University Teachers’ Association General Secretary Prof Dr Sharif Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune the students took up the programme at such a time while the government started an investigation into allegations against the VC and agitating teachers returned to classrooms.
“No teacher is agitating right now on the campus. The programme was not of general students, rather it was fueled by a third party that is using general students intentionally to damage the existing relation between teachers and students of the university,” he said.
However, JU unit BCL Secretary Razib Ahmed Russel rejected the allegation that the party forced general students to attend the human chain.
He said Chhatra League was the ruling party’s student wing and the government entrusted the Education Ministry to take steps for the interest of the unvieristy.
“There is no connection between BCL and the teachers’ agitation and we want that classes and examinations run peacefully,” said the leader.
JU teachers had been agitating on the campus demanding resignation of VC Prof Anwar Hossain.
To press home their demand, the teachers laid siege to JU administrative office for a month, boycotted classes and examinations and confined the VC over three days.
In the face of the teachers’ agitation, the government took steps and the teachers postponed their agitation for 15 days. The probe body has been formed to investigate into the allegations against VC Prof Anwar Hossain.
The investigation is supposed to be finished within September 24.
