Kuet teachers demand resignation of interim VC

The demand was made at a press briefing following a general meeting of the Kuet  Teachers’ Association held on Wednesday night at the university’s administrative building.

The association also urged the government to appoint a competent VC to resolve the ongoing crisis on campus.

As part of their protest, the teachers announced a human chain programme on the campus at 11am on Thursday.

General Secretary of the association Prof Dr Md Faruque Hossain said the teachers have lost confidence in Prof Hazrat Ali due to his disregard for university rules and regulations, indifference to student and teacher demands, and failure to perform his duties as the guardian of the institution.

“For these reasons, he must resign immediately,” Faruque said.

He said  since May 4, teachers have been boycotting classes, and since May 18, they have also abstained from administrative duties to press home their demand for justice against students who assaulted teachers.

Despite this, the VC has taken no steps to address their concerns, thereby obstructing the normal academic activities at the university  and aggravating the crisis on the campus.

Prof Faruque further said that the VC left for Dhaka on May 19 citing official work and assured the teachers of his return the next day.

However, he has not returned since and even sent back the university vehicle he used for the trip.

Meanwhile, the official assigned by the VC to manage routine tasks has submitted a written notice stating his inability to perform the duties on Wednesday, effectively leaving Kuet without leadership.

In this situation, a permanent VC must be appointed immediately, the teachers said.

Earlier in the day, from 12pm to 1pm, teachers staged a sit-in in front of the VC’s office and the administrative building.

A group of students also expressed solidarity with the teachers.

However, another group of students, who have been protesting for the past three months, remained silent and undecided on their next course of action.

The ongoing deadlock stems from a violent clash on February 18, after which the university was closed on February 25.

In response to student protests and a hunger strike, the government removed the then VC and Pro-VC on April 25.

Subsequently, Prof Dr Md Hazrat Ali of Cuet’s Civil Engineering department was appointed interim VC on May 1.

Although classes were supposed to resume from May 4 as per the Syndicate’s decision, Kuet teachers have refused to return to classrooms until justice is served for the alleged assault on teachers.

The classes and examinations have remained suspended since February 18, affecting around 7,500 students.

The new academic session for freshers has yet to begin, reports UNB.