It is safe to say that at this point, the deepening crisis at the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) with regard to the new vice-chancellor (VC) has reached an alarming and unacceptable threshold.
With classes and administrative functions paralyzed as a result of prolonged student blockades, and faculty and staff declaring total non-cooperation, the situation has devolved into chaos -- one that is hurting not just education for the students of the university, but also calls to attention the politicization of our higher education institutions.
Universities are meant to be beacons of rational discourse and intellectual pursuit, not battlegrounds for toxic partisan confrontation. Unfortunately, this is something our country has consistently failed to realize, and we are disappointed that the current situation is following suit.
That the VC position in our universities has remained so politicized is nothing if not an abject failure that has hurt education in this country. Even for the present situation, entering the university flanked by political cadres and forcing entry past padlocked gates is not the conduct expected of an academic leader.
Such heavy-handed optics bear an uncomfortable resemblance to the authoritarian administrative tactics of past eras, alienating the campus community and hardening student resistance.
However, we need cooler heads to prevail and move on from this. The ongoing shutdown is adversely affecting the student body at large, disrupting academic calendars and increasing anxiety for thousands of students. Shutting the VC for hours in his office and rejecting institutional channels altogether will not resolve the underlying dispute nor bring about a productive outcome.
A solution needs to be reached, and it demands immediate, serious intervention from the government who can no longer afford to remain passive observers.
There is a chasm that needs to be bridged; CUET cannot be allowed to remain held hostage, nor can disputes and disagreements be normalized in our universities and allowed to adversely affect the future of all other students.
