Around 20 teachers and staff members of Sylhet Engineering College were released after being confined to the college’s administrative building for nearly 33 hours amid a student protest.
The students were demanding the institution’s separation from the Directorate of Technical Education and affiliation with Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST).
The teachers and staff came out of the building around 9:30 pm after students opened the locked administrative building, acting Principal Md Asaduzzaman said.
The students, however, said their agitation would continue until a final decision is made to remove the college from the Directorate of Technical Education and bring it under SUST.
During the day, Sylhet City Corporation Administrator Abdul Quiyum Choudhury and Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Al Mamun held several rounds of discussions with student representatives before meeting the protesters on the campus.
The officials assured students that their demands would be placed before the relevant ministries and higher authorities, while urging them to release the confined teachers and staff.
The students rejected the request, saying they had received similar assurances for a long time but no effective decision had been taken.
They announced that classes, examinations, laboratory activities and academic and administrative operations would remain suspended indefinitely until a gazette notification is issued confirming the college’s separation from the Directorate of Technical Education.
The students also opposed a recent government order appointing and transferring a new principal, saying the newly appointed principal would not be allowed to enter the campus until their main demand is fulfilled.
