Sust plunges into session jam for admin's dithering

The Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (Sust) closed indefinitely after the November 20 factional fight of Bangladesh Chhatra League killed an outside activist on the campus, but the administration is still to decide when to reopen the institution, creating worries among students about whether they could graduate on time.

Sources in the administration said they feared further violence and that there was no possibility of resuming academic activities before January.

However, some officials wishing to remain anonymous said they could not reopen the university until the local leaders of the ruling Awami League asked them to do so.

Seeking anonymity, a BCL leader said the AL leaders backing the two factions would not let the university reopen until they came to "sort of a settlement".

On December 16, over 100 general students, from a human chain on the campus, gave the authorities a 72-hour ultimatum to reopen the university, but to no avail.

Md Habibur Rahman, a fourth-year student of Bangla, said, "We already lost one year. If it remains closed further, the session jam would be longer."

Another fourth-year student, Shahriar Ahmed, of social science, said the students who enrolled in 2013 were yet to complete their first semester.

Out of the total 11,000 students, 1,400 male students reside in three dormitories.

The demand for reopening came from the teachers, too.

On December 18, some left-leaning teachers led by Prof Rashed Talukder met Vice Chancellor Prof Aminul Haque Bhuiyan, while pro-AL teachers made the same call. Earlier, BNP-backed teachers submitted a memorandum to the VC in this regard.

On Wednesday, Sust Teachers Association demanded its reopening by January 1, in a memorandum handed over to the VC.

VC Aminul Haque told The Daily Star, “We are discussing the issue with senior teachers, officials and others to ensure a congenial atmosphere first.”

He could not give any specific time, but said a decision would come from a syndicate meeting in the first week of January.

On November 20, a gunfight broke out between the supporters of Sust BCL President Sanjibon Chakrabarty and Vice President Anjan Roy.

The hour-long clash killed Sumon Chandra Das, a third-year BBA student of Sylhet International University, and injured 20 others.

Both the factions, trying to overpower each other on the campus, brought in reinforcements from outside. Sumon fought on Anjan Roy's side.

Meanwhile, a probe committee of the university formed on November 21 to investigate the incident could not submit its report yet.

It was not given any time limit.

Prof Ilias Uddin Biswas, the committee convener, said they could not talk to the students who witnessed the incident because of the closure. They have only recorded statements of some teachers and officers, he added.