CUET salary and allowance crisis resolved after Agamir Somoy report
Photo: Agamir Somoy
The issue over the September salaries and festival allowances of teachers, officers and employees of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) has been resolved.
Daily Agamir Somoy published a report on Tuesday about the suspension of salaries and allowances. On Wednesday morning, teachers, officers and employees took a position in front of Sonali Bank’s CUET branch. Later, the issue was resolved following instructions from senior bank officials. After 12:30 pm, salary and allowance payments began to be deposited into the bank accounts of the concerned individuals.
Sonali Bank CUET branch manager Jayanta Bhowmik said, “We informed the senior officials about the matter. Shortly afterward, the issue was resolved following instructions from the senior officials.”
Jamal Uddin, president of the CUET Employees Association, said, “We had been staying in front of Sonali Bank’s CUET branch since 11 am. Later, the senior officials resolved the issue following our protest. From 12:30 pm, money started being deposited into the bank accounts of the officers and teachers.”
After receiving their salaries and allowances, the teachers, officers and employees withdrew their sit in protest from in front of the bank. However, they said their main movement would continue. Jamal Uddin said, “We moved away from the bank after the salary and allowance issue was resolved. However, our previous demand remains that Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem must be reinstated. Our movement will continue with this demand.”
The new Vice Chancellor of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), Professor Dr Sheikh Shariful Alam, had stopped the September salaries and festival allowances of 1,087 teachers, officers and employees of the university. On Tuesday, he sent a letter to the manager of Sonali Bank’s CUET branch instructing the bank to withhold the salaries.
At the same time, a shutdown has been ongoing at CUET for 16 consecutive days demanding cancellation of the appointment of the new Vice Chancellor and reinstatement of the former Vice Chancellor. As a result, academic and administrative activities at the university including classes and examinations have come to a standstill.
