Statutory Protocol Breached Via SMS Notice As Deadlock Deepens
CUET Faculty Refrain to Attend Online Syndicate Meeting Called By VC
- Internal faculty members refrain from attending virtual syndicate convened via mobile SMS
- Teachers challenge legality of apex meeting without Registrar's formal authorization
- Total campus strike persists over demand to reinstate former Vice-Chancellor
Deepening the institutional crisis at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), internal faculty members serving on the university's syndicate literely boycotted an online syndicate meeting convened by newly appointed Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Sheikh Shariful Alam. The unanimous non-participation served as a direct protest against bypassing statutory administrative channels and relying solely on mobile phone text messages to assemble the apex governing body.
The virtual session was scheduled for Friday, 16 October 2026, at 6:00 PM, following unilateral SMS notices distributed to syndicate members by the vice-chancellor. However, no internal teachers or academic deans from CUET joined the proceedings. The collective absence of internal faculty was confirmed by external syndicate member and Jahangirnagar University Professor Dr. Md. Jahidur Rahman.
The procedure drew intense pushback from senior faculty, who cited institutional statutes requiring formal meeting notifications to originate from the Directorate of the Registrar rather than ad-hoc text messages.
Objecting to the summons, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering Prof. Kazi Delowar Hossain emphasized that the university's governing acts mandate statutory directives to be issued through the Registrar’s office. He questioned the regulatory validity of convening the highest policymaking council via casual SMS alerts without formal documentation. Concurrently, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning Prof. Md. Rashidul Hasan refrained from the session, citing his ongoing leave status.
The institutional gridlock follows widespread rejection of Prof. Dr. Sheikh Shariful Alam's appointment to the post. General students have enforced a prolonged campus shutdown and examination boycott, demanding the revocation of his appointment and the immediate reinstatement of former Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem. With the university's teachers, administrative officers, and staff associations simultaneously enforcing continuous work stoppages in solidarity, all academic and administrative activities at CUET remain entirely suspended, official sources confirmed.
//DBTech/CRH/SMP/MIST//
