CUET VC breaks lock to enter office amid student protests
Photo: Agamir Somoy
Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology’s (CUET) Vice Chancellor (VC) Sheikh Shariful Alam entered the university’s administrative building by breaking its lock on Monday morning.
A photograph of him sitting in the VC’s chair quickly circulated on social media, provoking anger and dissatisfaction among teachers and students. Witnesses said after entering the administrative building, several individuals seated him in the chair and took pictures with mobile phones.
Students claimed that the new VC was scheduled to stay in Dhaka on 11-12 October and they did not regularly guard the university’s main gate. Taking advantage of that opportunity, Shariful entered the campus.
However, no official statement from the university administration was obtained regarding this matter. A teacher speaking on condition of anonymity said, “Where teachers, students, and officials do not want him, I do not understand how he will perform the duties of Vice Chancellor by forcefully breaking a lock. It seems that the crisis has deepened further by entering the campus after breaking the lock.”
Contact was made with the CUET Officers and Employees Association but their statement was not available.
Meanwhile, a 20-day deadlock has been ongoing at CUET demanding the reinstatement of former Vice Chancellor Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem. Students are boycotting classes and examinations as part of the shutdown program.
Expressing solidarity with their demand, members of the Teachers Association are also observing a work abstention. This has paralyzed the university’s educational and administrative activities, creating fear that the academic year will be disrupted.
Earlier on 24 September, Shariful joined online as VC. Due to the protests, he had been unable to go to the campus all this time. On 10 October, Md Arafat Rahman was assigned the routine duties of Vice Chancellor.
