Campus safe, no question about it

The High Court yesterday stayed the ban on student politics at Buet when the students were demanding that the campus be free from politics.

The Daily Star interviewed Buet Vice-Chancellor Prof Satya Prasad Majumder to have his opinion on the matter.

DS: What is your take on the High Court order?

Majumder: I am yet to receive the High Court order. I will comment after going through it.

DS: You must have heard about the court's decision.

Majumder: If any directives are issued following a writ petition, we will take action upon consultation with a legal adviser. If needed, we will take opinions from teachers and students.

DS: What is your stance on the students' demonstrations?

Majumder: The students said that they are feeling insecure. They will rejoin academic activities if their security was ensured. The safety issue has become their main concern.

DS: Does that mean the Buet campus is unsafe?

Majumder: The students think so, but I do not. They are now staging demonstrations but they attended classes and sat for exams before. From where the question of insecurity arose? There is no question of insecurity on campus. From our end, we are running academic activities. Exams will continue as per the decision of the academic council.

DS: What if the students do not sit for the exams?

Majumder: If they do not take an exam now, they will have to sit for the exams later.

DS: So, the students will have to suffer if they do not sit for the exams?

Majumder: Under the term system, students will fail if they do not sit for a particular exam. They will have to pass after retaking the exam.

DS: Is there any possibility of meeting all the demands of the students?

Majumder: It is not possible to fulfill all the demands right now. After having the report from the probe committee, we will know whether they [Chhatra League men] deserve punishment. We cannot make a decision on this before having the probe report. For investigation, we need to have the images of those who came to the campus that night [in the wee hours of March 28]. We have to identify how many people came and how long they stayed on the campus. We have also formed another committee to investigate if members of Hizb ut-Tahrir entered the campus. We have collected CCTV footage on that incident.

DS: Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has said the Buet campus has become a "base of militancy". Do you think so?

Majumder: We do not have such information. We have academic information of the students. We do not have information about their personal life and political activities. If the government provides us with any such information, we will take actions accordingly.

DS: The students do not want student politics in Buet but Chhatra League has insisted that it will reintroduce systematic student politics on campus. Are these two groups about to have a face off? Has an environment of insecurity been created here?

Majumder: Student politics was banned on campus against the backdrop of an incident. The fear from that incident may still be in students' mind. The fear might have increased after the students saw Chhatra League entering campus that night. It will take time for the fear to disappear. The fear about student politics will disappear if the students see the activities of Chhatra League, their positive work, and talk with the Chhatra League activists.