Administrative work has resumed at Khulna University (KU) after a four-day standstill. Protesting students said, however, that the boycott of classes and examinations will continue until their three demands are implemented in full.
Official work returned to normal from Sunday, 26 July, after the locks on the university’s administrative and academic buildings were opened.
The protesting students opened the locks on the administrative and academic buildings on Saturday night after a series of discussions with the university administration. A university notice at about 10pm said the students had taken the decision in the interest of keeping the continuing inquiry and urgent administrative work running.
In a statement, the protesting students said it was not their aim to obstruct administrative work. But no student will attend classes or examinations until there is a proper trial of the sexual harassment and of the secret filming of female students at Bijoy-24 Hall, and until the three demands are implemented.
The university’s director of student affairs, Professor Dr Md Salauddin, said students had padlocked the main gate and the administrative and academic buildings over an incident at Bijoy-24 Hall on the night of 22 July. The administration later began discussions at various levels on the students’ demands and took several important decisions.
In that continuity, heads of department held views-exchange meetings with students in every discipline of the university on Saturday. At these meetings teachers supported the demand for exemplary punishment of those accused of sexual harassment.
An emergency meeting was later held at 4.30pm, chaired by the vice-chancellor. The pro-vice-chancellor, the treasurer, deans of the various schools, discipline heads, the director of student affairs, provosts and other officials concerned were present. The meeting expressed solidarity with the students’ demands.
The students subsequently decided, on the basis of that discussion, to open the locks on the administrative and academic buildings. The administration called on students to return to class quickly and reiterated its assurance that the demands would be implemented within the set time.
Students had announced an indefinite boycott of classes, examinations and administrative work demanding a trial over allegations of sexual harassment against two teachers and an allegation of secretly filming female students against a canteen worker at Bijoy-24 Hall. When discussions with the administration did not bring the expected progress, the administrative and academic buildings were padlocked on Thursday.
The students’ demands include ensuring the maximum punishment of the canteen worker accused of filming, bringing the hall provost body concerned to account over allegations of negligence of duty, permanently expelling the two teachers accused of sexual harassment — one from the Bangla discipline and one from the agrotechnology discipline — and cancelling the registration of the “Spandan-24” club.
None of those accused has been charged. The allegations are as set out by the students in their demands.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report