CUET Students Protest Political Exploitation Of Movement

Thursday (October 15, 2026) marked the final working day at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) before the upcoming Durga Puja holidays, with students vacating residential halls and leaving the campus largely deserted. University administrative operations are scheduled to resume on October 25. However, students warned that if the ongoing crisis is not resolved, shutdown programs will continue starting October 25. No active protest events are scheduled during the vacation, though students remain firm on their positions.

On Thursday evening, protesting students released a video message strongly condemning attempts to co-opt their movement for political gain. Representing the five coordinators, Department of Mechanical Engineering fourth-year students Mahatab Haque and Mahidur Rahman Osmani articulated the student body's unified stance.

In his statement, Mahatab Haque asserted, “There is no ambiguity regarding the inception and objective of our movement. Reinstating Professor Dr. Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem by rescinding the controversial appointment notification is our sole demand. The legitimate demands of CUET students are not raw material for political narratives. No one has the right to distort our voices to advance external agendas.”

Addressing attempts to mischaracterize the protest, Mahidur Rahman Osmani stated, “We have noticed supportive statements published from Facebook pages run under the names of the banned Bangladesh Awami League and 'Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology Chhatra League'. We categorically declare that we neither solicited nor authorized such political support, nor have we granted anyone the right to represent our movement.” Recalling the profound grief, suppression, and bloodshed of the July-August mass uprising, he added that no organization could gloss over those experiences to masquerade as moral supporters of their movement, demanding instead an impartial investigation and accountability for past violence.

The students emphasized that since the government originally appointed Professor Sayem, the responsibility for resolving the crisis rests with state authorities. They reiterated that peaceful and democratic agitation will resume if the administration fails to address their core demand following the vacation.

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