Rajshahi University authorities early Sunday suspended admissions under the controversial ward quota, renamed as ‘institutional facilities’, after days of student protests and an unprecedented scuffle between students and teachers.
On Sunday, teachers, officials and employees, meanwhile, continued full-scale work abstention, triggered by the teacher-student clash.
The work abstention has caused fear particularly among the student organisations that it would potentially impact the voters’ turnout on the student union polls slated for September 25.
At about 1:30am, vice-chancellor Professor Saleh Hasan Naqib announced that admission of children of the teachers, officers and employees to the university’s undergraduate programmes would remain suspended ‘given the volatile situation on the campus’.
After a syndicate meeting at the VC residence on Sunday afternoon, registrar Professor Iftikharul Alam Masud told reporters that the decision to suspend admission under the institutional facilities category would remain in place ‘for the time being’.
Terming the Saturday’s scuffle between teachers and students as unprecedented, Professor Masud said that the syndicate had condemned the physical assault on teachers and decided to form two separate committees—one internal committee and another judicial inquiry committee—to investigate the incident.
He also said that the elections to the student unions would be held as scheduled.
On Sunday, all offices and classrooms were locked with no teachers, officials or staff attending their regular duties.
Jatiotabadi Teachers’ Forum president Professor Abdul Alim told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that the complete work abstention would continue until their two-point demand was met.
‘We want immediate exemplary punishment of those involved in assaulting our colleagues, as well as immediate admission of our children under institutional facilities,’ he said.
Professor Abdul Alim, however, said that the elections to the Rajshahi University Central Student Union, hall unions and Senate student representatives would remain outside the strike.
Contacted, RUCSU polls chief election commissioner Professor F Nazrul Islam told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that given the ongoing situation on the campus, the commission had held an emergency meeting on Sunday afternoon.
‘We will observe the overall situation and announce our decision tomorrow (Monday),’ he said, however, adding that they had been preparing to hold the elections on the scheduled date.
Despite the strike, law professor Morshedul Islam conducted a class under a tree in front of the Rabindranath Tagore Academic Building, attended by dozens of students.
Meanwhile, at a press conference in the evening, Samajtantrik Chhatra Front RU unit convener and RUCSU vice-president candidate Fuad Ratul accused university the administration of deliberately reviving the ward quota to disrupt the polls.
‘We strongly reject the so-called suspension. We want complete abolition of the ward quota,’ he said, warning that the polls would not be participatory without peace on the campus.
At a separate press briefing, Chhatra Odhikar Parishad RU unit president and RUCSU vice-president candidate Mehedi Maruf alleged that the inquiry bodies were formed only to investigate the assault on the pro-vice-chancellor.
‘Our students were also injured by officials and employees. We will not accept a biased probe,’ he said.
Mehedi also expressed concerns over voter turnout in the RUCSU elections.
‘Because of the strike, the tense atmosphere and the coming Durga Puja, many students are leaving the campus,’ he said, fearing a shrinking voter presence on the polls day.
Candidates said that the tense atmosphere was making it nearly impossible to reach voters.
 ‘Due to the tense situation on the campus, we could not conduct any electioneering for the past two days,’ said Tasin Khan, a vice-president candidate in the RUCSU polls from the Sarbojanin Shikkharthi Sangsad panel.
She said that RUCSU elections on the scheduled date of September 25 could never be participatory and fair in the present volatile situation.
 ‘We want a permanent solution to the ward quota first, then a peaceful environment, and the RUCSU elections later,’ she added.
Earlier on Thursday night, the university authorities reinstated the ward quota facility under the ‘institutional facilities’, sparking widespread agitation.
The crisis deepened on Saturday when students protesting at the reinstated facility besieged the pro-vice-chancellor (administration) at the teachers’ club for hours.
On January 2, the university, in face of student protest, abolished the ward quota under which the children and grandchildren of its teachers, officers and other employees were allowed admission to 5 per cent reserved seats in undergraduate courses.
In August, a section of teachers, officers and employees began a movement demanding reinstatement of the facility responding to which the authorities on Thursday reinstated the ward quota.
