Notification issued relieving KUET VC, Pro-VC

The Ministry of Education has issued notifications removing Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) vice chancellor Mohammad Mashud and pro-VC Sheikh Shariful Alam from their posts.

The ministry issued two separate notifications, signed by the Senior Assistant Secretary ASM Kashem, in this regard today (25 April).

The notifications state that the VC has been discharged under Section 10(2) of the Khulna University of Engineering and Technology Act, 2003 while the pro-VC has been discharged under Section 12(2), and they will now return to their respective departments.

Earlier, on 24 April, a media statement issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the interim government has decided to relieve the KUET VC and pro-VC from their duties in the face of growing student protests on various campuses across the country.

The development came as students across campuses began hunger strikes and staging demonstrations demanding Prof Mashud's removal as KUET VC in solidarity with KUET students who have been staging a hunger strike since 21 April over the same demand.

Students at Rajshahi University and Jahangirnagar University also launched hunger strikes on their respective campuses in solidarity with the students from KUET.

Meanwhile, on 23 April, the Bangladesh Democratic Students Council, in a press statement, condemned the interim government for not taking measures to heed the protesting students' demand.

Prior to that, on Tuesday night, students from the Dhaka University blocked the Shahbagh intersection in the capital, demanding Prof Mashud's removal as KUET VC.

Earlier that day, students from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and the DU held separate protest rallies in solidarity with the movement of the students of KUET.

On 23 April morning, a high-level delegation of University Grant Commission (UGC) members, education ministry officials, including Adviser CR Abrar, visited the KUET students on hunger strike on the campus.

During the visit, the adviser repeatedly requested the protesting students to end their hunger strike. But the students refused to withdraw their protest.

He informed the students that the ministry has already formed a committee to look into their demands and that the committee would soon hold discussions with them.

However, the students rejected his appeal, saying they were unwilling to wait any longer.