JU crisis deepens
Teachers, students on strike seeking VC’s removal
Protesting teachers and students of Jahangirnagar University began a strike yesterday demanding the vice-chancellor’s removal.
Classes and examinations at different departments were barely held as protesters sat in front of the gates of buildings that they had locked from outside.
A section of the protesters sat under a marquee with a banner that read “VC removal platform”.
Meanwhile, the administration at a press conference on October 23 said Shibir activists were involved in the demonstrations.
The protesters said such allegations were aimed at stopping the movement.
The demonstrators also marched on campus and blocked Dhaka-Aricha Highway for 10 minutes in the morning. Later, they went in front of the VC’s residence and chanted slogans demanding her resignation.
A spokesperson of the platform, Prof Sayeed Ferdous of anthropology, said the protest would continue until Prof Farzana’s removal.
Meanwhile, the VC-backed teachers’ organisation “Jahangirnagar for development and against injustice” urged to the protesters to solve the crisis through discussion.
Students started protests on August 23 demanding a judicial inquiry into the reported involvement of the vice-chancellor and her family in corruption and mismanagement of Tk 1,445 crore development projects on the campus. Many teachers joined them later.