Wall graffiti demands Prof Sayem's reinstatement; press briefing called for 4 PM
CUET Students Guard Main Gate to Block New VC, Announce Red Card Protest
- CUET students mount an overnight vigil at the primary entrance gate to block newly appointed VC Prof Sheikh Shariful Alam
- Campus walls are painted with protest graffiti demanding the reinstatement of ex-VC Prof Dr Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem
- Agitators announce a 'red card' demonstration at 1:30 PM against the new VC's media remarks, followed by a 4:00 PM press briefing
CHATTOGRAM, 26 September: Tensions escalated significantly across Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) as students launched an overnight vigil at the campus main entrance gate on Friday night, 25 September, determined to physically resist the arrival of newly appointed Vice-Chancellor Professor Sheikh Shariful Alam. The student body continues to demand the immediate cancellation of the government notification and the reinstatement of recently removed Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem.
By Saturday morning (26 September), the campus transformed into a center of active protest. Starting at 10:00 AM, students took to painting symbolic slogans and satirical graffiti across prominent academic buildings, plazas, and boundary walls. The wall writings denounced the sudden administrative overhaul and called upon the higher education authorities to respect the institutional continuity led by Prof. Dr. Sayem.
The mobilization gained further momentum in response to recent public comments by Prof. Sheikh Shariful Alam, who dismissed the student uprising as minor, asserting to the press that only 30 to 35 students were engaged and claiming that the student body was preparing to welcome him. Rejecting his assertions, agitating students declared a campus-wide protest rally and a symbolic "red card" demonstration aimed at the incoming VC at 1:30 PM. Furthermore, the organizers scheduled a formal press briefing at 4:00 PM to present their unified stance and announce upcoming protest programs.
The current standoff originated on 21 September, when the government replaced Prof. Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem with KUET’s ETE department faculty member Prof. Sheikh Shariful Alam. That decision immediately triggered midnight marches where female hall residents broke dorm curfew to lock the VC bungalow. The standoff widened when the CUET Teachers' Association announced an indefinite, total work abstention from the night of 24 September—exempting only essential emergency and residential hall operations—which was subsequently endorsed by campus officer and staff associations. With faculty members on strike and students barricading the gates, administrative functions at CUET remain entirely paralyzed.
//DBTech/MTA/ SMP/BTOP//
