KUET Students Continue Hunger Strike Demanding Vice Chancellor's Removal
A total of 32 students at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) continue their hunger strike demanding the removal of the Vice Chancellor. Other students have surrounded the protest site in solidarity, encouraging those on strike. As of Tuesday morning (April 22), the striking students remained without food for over 20 hours at the Student Welfare Center, yet there has been no response from the administration. The students have urged KUET advisors to take note of their demands.
One student was removed from the strike due to illness, while another was taken away by their guardian out of health concerns. Despite this, students Rahat, Taufiq, Galib, and Obaidullah have vowed to continue the hunger strike until the Vice Chancellor is removed, even if it means sacrificing their lives. One of them stated, “It has been over 20 hours since the strike began. Many are experiencing dehydration. The extreme heat is pushing everyone toward illness.”
The protesters questioned, “Is the interim government ignoring our legitimate demand just because we haven’t caused public suffering by blocking roads or trains?”
They allege that on February 18, KUET students were attacked by activists from the student wing of the BNP and outsiders, while the KUET administration failed to provide security. Instead of naming the attackers, the administration filed a vague case against unidentified individuals. To date, no one has been arrested.
In contrast, the students noted that recently, an outsider filed a case against 22 students, and the KUET administration suspended 37 students, including several involved in the protests. Despite repeated appeals to the Vice Chancellor, he has reportedly failed to meet any of their demands.
The students recalled that on April 13, they requested the reopening of campus and residence halls, but the administration did not respond. After spending two nights under the open sky, they broke the locks and entered the dormitories on April 15. However, essential services such as food, water, and internet were still unavailable. With no initiative taken by the interim government, the students say they were compelled to begin an indefinite hunger strike.
The strike began at 4:00 p.m. on Monday (April 21) at the veranda of the Student Welfare Center. KUET’s Director of Student Welfare, Professor Dr. Md. Abdullah Elias Akhtar, stated that efforts were being made to persuade the students to end their protest. “We will talk to them again about withdrawing the hunger strike,” he said.
Earlier, in its 101st emergency syndicate meeting on April 14, the university temporarily suspended 37 students involved in the February 18–19 violence. The syndicate also announced that academic activities would resume on May 4, and residence halls would reopen on May 2. Students rejected the decision and staged a sit-in in front of the administrative building that night. For two days, they spent the nights outdoors before breaking into the halls on April 15.
The conflict originated from demands to ban student politics, which escalated into violent clashes between KUET students, local residents, and activists of the BNP’s student and youth wings on February 18, leaving over 50 people injured. On February 25, the syndicate shut down all academic activities and residence halls indefinitely. On April 13, defying the closure order, students re-entered the campus and have been protesting for the Vice Chancellor’s resignation ever since.
