The teachers, known for being divided into factions according to partisan political loyalty and colourfully labeled as "pink," "white," "blue" and so on, who had been arch adversaries, patched up their differences to put up a common front against government action.

Expression of views about government action and raising the voice of protest by the university community, teachers and students, in themselves are not the issue. This may cause discomfiture for the government and there may be a debate about the legality of any kind of protest under a state of emergency. But these are challenges the interim government has to handle as a part of the big job it has taken upon itself.

What is extremely disturbing is the sense of deja vu evoked by the teachers' refusal to teach their classes. The cry for political reforms and the need for change in political culture being voiced all over the country apparently have not touched the consciousness or conscience of the protesting academics.

The activist teachers, it appears, have chosen to ignore widespread public concern about the distressing situation of teaching and learning and the dismal state of governance in academia. They have also refused to see that the crisis on campus has been attributed to the pervasive invasion of partisan politics and the consequent disregard for a basic code of conduct among the academics.

Change in governance of higher education, public and private, is being debated. A new legal framework for universities is under consideration. Whatever shape it takes, and its pros and cons need to be examined openly, there is agreement that an academic environment for scholarly pursuit must be nurtured in institutions of higher learning.

The teachers and students have to abide by basic norms and values to create and promote the academic culture and environment on campus. The teachers have to give the lead and be the role model for students. The scholarly community in the university, including teachers and students, indeed has a responsibility to be concerned about and to speak out on critical national issues. But they must not put in jeopardy, under almost any circumstance, their central mission of teaching and learning.

Even if the students are carried away by their youthful enthusiasm, teachers have to behave responsibly. On a matter of public importance, teachers can express their views in many ways -- organise a "sit-in" with students, wear black badges in symbolic protest, invite citizens to public debate and arrange seminars to enlighten the public and so on. But these should not be at the expense of their primary duty to their students.

According to the University Grants Commission, the government spent Tk 360 crores in 2005 as the operating budget for public universities. A similar amount, at an average of Tk 36,000, has been spent by each of the families of over 100,000 public university students. Counting 200 instructional days in a year, Tk 3.6 crore is spent per day for the public universities -- which is the financial cost of one day of "shut-down" in the public university system.

We must learn the lesson from the decline of higher education witnessed over the recent decades. We must not return to the turmoil under the political regimes. University teachers have to provide the leadership to reverse the decline by their own action.

Dr. Ahmed is Director of BRAC University Institute of Educational Development and a former teacher of Dhaka University.