NN Online
The Ministry of Education has initiated the process to remove Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) Vice-Chancellor Prof Muhammad Mashud and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof SK Shariful Alam from their positions. The move was confirmed in a midnight media release issued on Wednesday by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Citing recent unrest on campus, the statement said the decision aims to resolve the ongoing crisis and ensure the swift resumption of academic activities. A search committee will be formed to appoint new officials, and a senior professor will temporarily assume the responsibilities of acting Vice-Chancellor.
The decision comes amid sustained student protests demanding the VC’s resignation. A group of students has been on hunger strike for three days, with protests intensifying in recent weeks.
Earlier on Wednesday, Education Ministry Advisor CR Abrar visited the KUET campus, meeting students and those on hunger strike. Student leaders told Abrar that their initial six-point charter had been reduced to a single demand—the removal of VC Mashud. Abrar had also contacted students by phone the previous day to check on their well-being.
Meanwhile, a University Grants Commission (UGC) team was expected to visit the campus to assess the situation.
The crisis traces back to February 18, when calls to ban student politics sparked clashes between Chhatra Dal and Anti-Discrimination Student Movement activists, injuring over 50. In the days that followed, students locked down academic buildings, prompting KUET’s syndicate to suspend political activities and form a probe committee. A police case was filed against 400–500 unnamed individuals.
On February 20, students issued a symbolic “red card” to student political groups and demanded the VC’s resignation. A formal memorandum was submitted in Dhaka on February 23. Following further tensions, the university closed all residential halls on February 25.
A full investigation into the February clashes was completed and submitted on Sunday. Separately, a local resident filed a case against 22 students in a Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court.
The student movement gained momentum again on April 13, when protesters began a sit-in in front of the administrative building, demanding the reopening of halls. Although the syndicate later lifted the suspension of 37 students and announced the reopening of halls from May 2 and resumption of classes from May 4, tensions remained high.
On April 15, students narrowed their demands to a single point—VC Mashud’s resignation—and forcibly reopened male residential halls. Days later, they staged a protest march and burned an effigy of the VC’s chair. A 24-hour resignation ultimatum issued on April 20 ended in a hunger strike when no action was taken.
