Dr. Arafat Assigned CUET Routine Duties

Amid widespread student protests supported by faculty and administrative staff, mechanical engineering professor Dr. Arafat Rahman has been assigned the routine administrative duties of the Vice Chancellor at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET). On 09 October, Friday evening, an official email dispatch confirmed his interim appointment for a duration of two days.

Institutional sources revealed that the assignment was issued as current Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Sheikh Shariful Alam is scheduled to travel to Dhaka on 11 and 12 October. Meanwhile, an estimated six thousand students continue their relentless agitation demanding the reinstatement of former Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem. Faculty members have also maintained an uncompromising stance, demanding the resolution of the leadership dispute to resume lectures and laboratory sessions.

The operational impasse escalated after authorities replaced the internally appointed Vice Chancellor after only 56 days, appointing Prof. Dr. Sheikh Shariful Alam from the Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) department of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET). Rejecting the transition, students formed blockades at the university gates, preventing the newly appointed head from physically entering campus and forcing him to assume office via virtual remote channels. Complete strikes observed by faculty, officers, and staff have halted administrative governance alongside instructional frameworks.

The complete shutdown instituted on 22 September has caused the postponement of 25 to 30 examinations across 18 specialized departments, stalling classroom schedules and specialized laboratory research. Semester evaluations for the 2021-22 academic session across Civil Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, and Mechatronics and Industrial Engineering have been suspended midway. Furthermore, despite concluding scheduled curricula, final exams remain blocked across Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.

Additionally, scheduled evaluations for Electrical and Electronic Engineering (2022-23 session) and Water Resources Engineering (2023-24 session) have failed to commence. Reaffirming the collective stance of the educators, Teachers' Association President Prof. Ahsanullah asserted that faculty members remain resolute on the reinstatement of the previous administrator. Hoping for prompt government intervention to defuse the academic crisis, he stated that the association will convene next week to formulate subsequent protest measures if administrative gridlocks persist. //DBTech/CHMG/SMP/MIST//