Kuet suspends academic activities until Feb 28 amid growing tensions

Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet) authorities on Wednesday suspended academic activities until February 28 amid growing tensions between two groups of students over the demand for banning student politics on its campus.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the university syndicate, officials told UNB.

The authorities also decided to expel the students involved in Tuesday’s attack, file cases against outsiders, bear the medical expenses of the injured and ensure the safety of students.

Earlier, some students locked the university’s administrative and academic buildings at 1:30 pm, to press home their 6-point demand, including the resignation of Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Mohammad Masud.

A tense situation has been prevailing on the campus as some students confined the VC to the administrative building.

Tensions mounted on the campus on Wednesday morning, a day after clashes between ‘general students’ and BNP’s student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) over the demand for banning student politics.

The ‘general students’, however, on Tuesday night placed a-five point demand, including resignation of the VC, pro-VC and students’ affairs director.

They threatened to boycott classes and exams, if their demands are not met by 1pm on Wednesday.

At 11:30pm, the ‘general students’ also brought out a protest rally and warned that no student politics on the campus would be allowed.

They demanded that those attacked them be brought to justice immediately.

Earlier, on Tuesday afternoon, at least 50 students were injured in a series of clashes between ‘general students’ and the JCD activists over banning student politics on the campus.

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) and students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) held a protest rally on Tuesday night against what they described as the terrorist attack by Chhatra Dal on Kuet students.

ADSM organised the rally at Dhaka University's Raju Sculpture, while Buet students gathered at their Shaheed Minar on Tuesday evening.