DUET Students Protest Outsider VC Appointment, Block Road

Students of Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET) in Gazipur staged protests and blocked roads in opposition to the appointment of Mohammad Iqbal as the university’s Vice Chancellor. The demonstration began around 9:30pm on Thursday, May 14, from the university’s central mosque premises and later moved through different campus roads before protesters took position on the Dhaka-Shimultali regional road.

The students launched the movement demanding that the Vice Chancellor be appointed from among DUET’s internal faculty members. Immediately after the government issued the official notification appointing the new VC, students rejected the decision.

According to the protesters, DUET is a specialised engineering university, and its internal teachers possess a much clearer understanding of the institution’s academic structure, administrative challenges, and students’ real-life conditions. Therefore, they argued, appointing an internal faculty member is essential for the university’s long-term development and sustainable planning.

During the protest, students chanted slogans demanding “DUET’s VC must come from DUET” and burned tyres on the road, temporarily halting traffic movement on the Dhaka-Shimultali regional road. Earlier, the DUET Teachers' Association had also expressed solidarity with the demand through an emergency meeting, calling for the appointment of a Vice Chancellor from among the university’s senior internal faculty members.

The Officer-in-Charge of Gazipur Sadar Metro Police Station said students withdrew from the road and returned to the campus around 11:00pm. Traffic movement has since returned to normal, and the campus situation remains peaceful.

However, the students indicated that they would remain firm in their stance until internal leadership is ensured to protect the interests of the university.

DBTech/DMO/EK/OR