The agitating students of the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Sust) have said that they will not suspend their ongoing protest demanding the resignation of Vice Chancellor Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed as the bonding between the students and the VC has been severed.
The students said this during an urgent press briefing in front of the VC’s residence on Monday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the agitating students, Mohaiminul Bashar Raj, also told the media that they were not being influenced by any third party to continue the agitation.
Meanwhile, the hunger strike by Sust students demanding the VC’s resignation rolled into its sixth day on Monday with no sign of resolve in sight.
Four more students joined the fast-unto-death strike on Sunday taking their total number to 27.
Fifteen of the students participating in the hunger strike are currently undergoing treatment at hospitals while 13 are still continuing their strike on the campus.
The students on Sunday night disconnected power connection to the VC residence. During the press meet, they urged all not to consider the measure as an act of violence.
The students have been demonstrating since January 13, demanding the resignation of Begum Sirajunnesa Chowdhury Hall Provost Zafrin Ahmed.
Zafrin, who had been accused of misbehaving with some students, resigned from her post, citing health issues in the face of protests.
Her removal as provost of the residential hall for female students was one of the principal demands of the students protesting on the campus.
However, students continued their protests after police charged batons and fired rubber bullets at them on January 16.
On January 18, they wrote an open letter to President Abdul Hamid, also the chancellor, demanding the immediate removal of the vice-chancellor.
VC apologies for remarks on JU students
Meanwhile, Prof Farid has apologized for his offensive remarks on the female students of Jahangirnagar University (JU).
He conveyed his apology to JU Vice Chancellor Prof Farzana Islam over the phone at 11:59am on Monday, said a statement issued by JU authorities.
The Sust VC has claimed that an audio clip containing his statement was edited and spread through social media.
Realizing that the audio clip has generated anger among the students of JU, he decided to offer an apology.
He hoped that the teachers and students of JU would forgive him, the release added.
Prof Farid was heard making derogatory comments on JU students in a recently leaked audio clip saying: "No one wants to marry Jahangirnagar University girls easily."
On Friday, more than 500 former and current female students of JU demanded resignation and public apology from the Sust VC for his hateful, insulting and vulgar remarks.
They also asked the JU authorities to boycott all kinds of academic relationships with Prof Farid.
The presence of such a misogynistic person at the position of a vice chancellor, 50 years after the independence of Bangladesh, unveils the institutional patriarchy and the failure of the state, they said.
