The Jagannath University Teachers’ Association on Thursday announced a complete shutdown of the university until their demands, including for accommodation facilities and the completion of their proposed new campus, are met.
The association announced that teachers of the university will not take part in any kind of academic activities during the time.
JnU Teachers’ Association general secretary Rais Uddin told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that the association announced the complete shutdown although it was not an administrative decision.
‘We have decided not to participate in any academic activities until our demands are met,’ said Rais as students, teachers, and staffs of JnU continued their sit-in in front of the Kakrail Mosque police barricade near the chief adviser’s official residence Jamuna in Dhaka for the second day on Thursday pressing for the demands.
JnU vice-chancellor Rezaul Karim on Thursday evening told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that he was not aware of the shutdown.
Some protesting students stayed at the barricade for the whole night while several hundred students, teachers and university staffs by university buses gradually joined the sit-in on the day blocking the road for the second day.
The blockade halted vehicular movement on the nearby roads, resulting in long tailbacks on them and thus causing public sufferings on the last working day of the week.
JnU buses were parked on roads near the Kakrail traffic island to block both sides of the Mogbazar-Kakrail road towards the Matsya Bhaban.
Protesters asserted that they will not leave the place until their demands are met. The sit-in was in progress when this report was being written at 9:30pm.
Addressing the sit-in on Thursday, teachers’ association general secretary Professor Rais Uddin expressed regret as a protester on Wednesday night hurled a water bottle, hitting the information and broadcasting adviser Mahfuj Alam in the head when he was addressing the protesters.
‘The adviser should also express regret for the police attack on teachers and students,’ said Rais.
He expressed doubt over the government position on the protesters’ demands as they did not get any positive response from it while two days have already passed by.
The protesters chanted different slogans in support of their three-point demands — the introduction of ‘housing stipend’ for 70 per cent of the JnU students from the upcoming financial year and continue the financial support until securing permanent accommodation for all students, full approval of the proposed university budget for the FY 2025–26 without any cuts, and an immediate approval in the next executive committee of the National Economic Council meeting of the university’s second campus project and its implementation on a priority basis.
Their slogans also included ‘Hall is our right,’ ‘Discrimination will not be tolerated,’ ‘Accommodation must be ensured.’
Protesting students also wrote the slogans on their body and on roads.
JnU student Tauohid Chowdhury said that the university has been lacking basic infrastructure for students and teachers since its foundation.
‘Infrastructural development of the university is our long-time demand. Authorities assured us on various occasions of solving problems but did nothing. False assurances will not be tolerated anymore,’ said Tauohid.
Jagannath University Journalists’ Association president Subarna As-Saif and general secretary Mahtab Hosen Limon are undergoing treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Dhaka National Medical College respectively as they were injured during the police action on Wednesday.
In another development, the JnU VC on Thursday afternoon went to meet the education ministry adviser Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar at his office, the adviser’s personal secretary AKM Tajkir-Uz-Zaman told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·, adding that it was not a formal meeting.
JnU Teachers’ Association president Mosharraf Hossain at 10:00pm told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that no teacher from the association went for any meeting with the government.
‘We heard that the VC is now in a meeting with an adviser. But we don’t know anything more,’ said Mosharraf.
A large number of personnel from the police, army, Border Guard Bangladesh, Special Weapons And Tactics, and Armed Police Battalion have been deployed near the police barricade to maintain security in the area.
