CUET students lock new VC’s residence gate

Protesting students at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) padlocked the gate of the vice-chancellor’s residence on Monday, leaving the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sheikh Shariful Alam, inside after he failed to vacate the building by their noon deadline.

The students declared the residence vacant shortly after noon on Monday, October 12, and locked its gate in accordance with their earlier ultimatum, adding that they had taken steps to sever the building’s electricity and water supplies. Prior to the deadline, the protesters had warned that they would proclaim the residence vacant, bolt its entrance and cut off its utilities unless the vice-chancellor departed by noon. Once the deadline had lapsed, they congregated in front of the building to enforce the announced measures.

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Professor Alam assumed office after sending his joining letter to the president and the education ministry secretary on September 24, yet he has been unable to set foot on the campus amid the unrest. Meanwhile, Mohammad Arafat Rahman, a teacher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, was assigned to perform the vice-chancellor’s routine duties on October 11 and 12. Nevertheless, the protesting students rejected that arrangement as well, and the campus has consequently remained tense since Monday morning, with no resolution to the stand-off in sight.