DUET Clash: 25 students, cop hurt over VC’s joining
At least 25 people, including five policemen, were injured in a clash between two groups on the Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET) campus in Gazipur on Sunday over the joining of newly appointed Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mohammad Iqbal.
Witnesses said the unrest began after the government appointed Dr Iqbal, a teacher at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, as the new DUET vice-chancellor.
Soon after the announcement, a section of DUET students rejected the appointment and demanded that the vice-chancellor be chosen from within the university.
Dr Iqbal was scheduled to join office on Sunday. Since morning, a group of students had been demonstrating against the appointment and declared him persona non grata on the campus.
The protesters locked the university’s main gate and observed a “red card” programme demanding cancellation of the appointment, witnesses said.
Meanwhile, another group of students who supported the new vice-chancellor gathered outside the campus, triggering tension between the two sides.
At one stage, the two groups clashed, leaving at least 25 people injured.
Aminul Islam, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station, said police were trying to bring the situation under control.
The protesting students said DUET is a specialised engineering university and teachers from the institution have a better understanding of its academic and administrative structure.
They said appointing a vice-chancellor from among DUET teachers would help ensure the university’s overall development, research activities and academic environment.
Meanwhile, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) on Sunday alleged that activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, operating under the banner of “general students,” created a confrontational situation at the Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET) campus.
The student wing of BNP also condemned and protested what it described as a “planned conspiracy.”
According to JCD, Chhatra Shibir has been trying to destabilise the university in line with its political agenda.
In a press release, the organisation said Prof Dr Mohammad Iqbal has recently been appointed Vice-Chancellor of DUET. He previously served as a professor at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.
However, immediately after his appointment, some Shibir-affiliated activists at DUET, posing as general students launched protests and road blockades demanding the cancellation of the appointment and insisting that the VC be appointed from within DUET, the statement said.
JCD said appointing vice-chancellors from outside institutions is a common practice in many higher educational institutions but the issue is being deliberately used to create instability on the DUET campus.
The organisation also alleged that the previous DUET administration had faced various accusations, including lack of transparency, partisanship, unethical practices and arbitrary recruitment.
Now the outgoing administration and the covert organisation Chhatra Shibir are jointly trying to destabilise the university according to their political agenda, the statement said.
JCD President Rakibul Islam Rakib and General Secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir condemned and protested the activities.
They also demanded that those responsible for the “undesirable incident” at the DUET campus be identified and brought to justice through the university administration and law enforcement agencies.
