Students of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) have declared a complete shutdown, demanding reinstatement of former vice‑chancellor Abu Shadat Muhammad Sayem.
On Tuesday, they announced that the protest would continue until their demand is met.
Abdullah Al Galib, a student, said, “We don’t know why our VC sir was removed. We want his reinstatement. The movement will go on until our demand is fulfilled.”
Since Monday night, students have been demonstrating on campus and later locked the VC office.
University sources said Prof Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem was replaced by Prof Sheikh Shariful Alam of KUET’s Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering department, who has been appointed as CUET’s new VC.
Around 10:30pm Monday, students held a protest march from Swadhinata Chattar, joined by both male and female participants. The procession moved through academic buildings, the women’s dormitory and teachers’ residential area.
Although residential halls closed at 8pm, many female students came out around 11pm to join the march, chanting slogans along campus roads. The procession ended at Swadhinata Chattar around midnight, after which students locked the VC office.
Students said they were agitated by the decision to change the VC without prior notice. They demanded the decision be withdrawn and Prof Sayem reinstated.
Meanwhile, the CUET Teachers’ Association held an emergency meeting on Monday and decided to protest the authorities’ decision to remove Prof Sayem. The teachers also demanded that the former VC be reinstated.
