Students of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) held an exchange-of-views meeting and mass contact programme on Sunday to resolve the ongoing deadlock surrounding the appointment of a vice-chancellor and to press home their demands.
The meeting took place at the university’s central auditorium from 3pm to 4pm, drawing students from various departments across the first to final years.
Discussions focused on the overall situation of the protest, the campus visit by a committee formed by the University Grants Commission (UGC), and the contents of the exchange-of-views session held between the UGC committee and the students.
Participants also discussed the current state of the movement and outlined future courses of action based on student feedback and queries.
Following the meeting, students brought out a demonstration rally from the university’s Central Shaheed Minar. The procession circled Swadhinata Chattar before coming to an end. During the rally, students chanted slogans including “VC sir, VC sir, Sayem sir, Sayem sir” and “The VC who beats students is not my VC”.
Speaking after the procession, Zulkarnain Mihad, a fourth-year student of the Mechanical Engineering department, said that the movement could not be suppressed by the threats issued by the UGC committee. He noted that although the present government is student-friendly, it is deeply unfortunate that no response has been received even after 40 long days.
Mihad added that students had met with the committee formed through an illegal Syndicate meeting, but its behaviour towards them was extremely disappointing. He said that the committee directly told them their future was dark and that they would not even provide money to buy tissues.
Expressing disappointment over these remarks, he warned that the longer a solution is delayed, the tougher steps students will be forced to take.
