KUET Crisis Continues: Students Spend Pahela Baishakh Demanding Dorm Reopening
Despite students’ demand to reopen the residence halls of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) by 8:00 PM on Sunday, the university authorities remained unresponsive. In protest, over a hundred students continued their sit-in in front of the administrative building and resolved to stay overnight. As a result, they welcomed the dawn of the Bengali New Year under the open sky, reaffirming their decision not to leave the campus until the administration takes a favorable step.
To maintain order, police were deployed at two main gates of the campus throughout the night.
During a press briefing at around 8:45 PM in front of the administrative building, Masudur Rahman Rabbi, a student of the CSC-19 batch, stated, “We have been on campus since 2:00 PM. We placed our request to the administration in front of the administrative building, asking that all residence halls be reopened by any means necessary. However, until 8:30 PM, we received no steps or feedback from the administration, which is extremely disappointing. We believed the teachers and administration were student-friendly, but not receiving any feedback from them has forced us to stay here overnight. Tomorrow morning, we will announce our next course of action. But we will not leave the campus.”
Students said the closure of the halls and suspension of academic activities are disrupting their studies. Many students who live in the dorms rely on private tuition outside the campus, which they are now unable to attend.
Professor Dr. Md. Rafiqul Islam, a KUET syndicate member and Dean of the Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), stated that it is not possible to reopen the dormitories or resume academic activities without holding a syndicate meeting. After accepting a written petition from the students, he said, he would personally take the matter to the Vice-Chancellor and present their demands.
“We asked the students to share their ideas on how we can move forward. Previously, teachers and the Teachers’ Association agreed with the five-point demand submitted by the students. We have been working on these during Ramadan. Today (Sunday) we were supposed to submit a report on the matter. A meeting was held this morning, and we are confident the report will be submitted. We hope the issues will be resolved soon. We do not want to keep the campus closed for long, but a decision can only be made following a syndicate meeting,” he added.
Earlier on Sunday, around 150 KUET students gathered at the main gate of the university at around 2:30 PM. As per the university’s instructions, they were allowed inside the campus at 3:00 PM after showing their ID cards. They then moved to the front of the administrative building.
Around 3:45 PM, a delegation of teachers approached the students and explained that reopening the halls and resuming academic activities would not be possible without a syndicate meeting.
During the press briefing, the students reiterated that their studies were being severely disrupted due to the closure. Many of them, who depend on dormitories for accommodation, were also missing their tuition jobs. They submitted a written request to the administration, demanding that the halls be reopened by 8:00 PM. If their demands are not met, they said, they would discuss and announce their next course of action.
The current unrest stems from a February 18 clash between KUET students and members of Chhatra Dal and local residents over a demand to ban student politics on campus. More than 100 people were injured in the incident. Following the clash, the KUET administration on February 25 announced the suspension of all academic activities and closure of residence halls until further notice.
