SUST student protest: Restoring trust soon is crucial

Agitated students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) are continuing their protest in demand of the resignation of their Vice Chancellor (VC) Farid Uddin Ahmed. 24 students went on to hunger strike from 19 January and most of them are facing severe health issues as 16 of them were hospitalized till Saturday morning. The education sector of Bangladesh is going through critical turbulence especially with the COVID-19 pandemic as the students returned to the educational institutes after over a year and half recently. Hence, during this critical time, the authority must act soon to resolve the issues by restoring trust between the students and the teachers.

Students have been demonstrating since January 13, demanding the resignation of Begum Sirajunnesa Chowdhury Hall Provost Zafrin Ahmed Liza.  Zafrin, who had been accused of misbehaving with some students, resigned from her post, citing health issues in the face of protests. Her removal as provost of the residential hall for female students was one of the principal demands of the students protesting on the campus. Professor Nazia Chowdhury was made the new provost of the hall.

SUST VC FaridUddin Ahmed sought seven days from students to deal with the other issues raised. However, the protesting students rejected the proposal. Amidst the protest, Farid Uddin Ahmed took refuge inside the ICT building of the university where he was confined by the students. To free the VC from the confinement, the university treasurer Anwarul Islam and the Student Welfare President Rashed Talukder tried to negotiate with the students, assuring them of accepting their demand. But the students did not comply.
At one point, the police rescued the VC by disbanding the protesters, throwing sound grenades and charging batons. At least 30 people including students, the university treasurer and Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan Police were injured in the clash. However, students continued their protests after police charged batons and fired rubber bullets at them on January 16. The police later filed a case against 200-300 student protesters which was claimed to be another tool to harass the students, according to the protesters.

The authority of SUST has suspended academic activities indefinitely following the clash between students and police. Students have been asked to leave their dormitories by 12pm of 17 January. But by then, the situation went beyond the control of the authorities. Students rejected the closure notice and not only stayed back on the campus but also organized a renewed movement under single demand of the resignation of the VC.

On January 18, the protesting students wrote an open letter to President Abdul Hamid, demanding the immediate removal of the VC Farid Uddin Ahmed. Later Some 24 students embarked on a hunger strike on Wednesday afternoon, demanding the removal of the VC. Several attempts have been made by teachers and guardians to talk to the students, but the students have declined to take part in any discussions or give responses until the VC is removed. Despite the extreme cold, the agitated students are still outside the VC's building.

Education Minister Dipu Moni had spoken over the phone with the students who are on a hunger strike demanding the immediate removal of Sust Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed. Later, it was decided that a delegation of the students will be starting for Dhaka in the evening for a meeting with Dipu Moni on Saturday. However, protesters' spokesman, at an emergency press conference on Friday, declared that they were not going to Dhaka and decided to hold a virtual meeting. The virtual meeting was held late at night but no solution came out.

The students said they would continue the protest even if the campus is declared closed, in light of the government's decision to shut down all educational institutions for the next two weeks. Opposition party MP Kazi Firoz Rashid on Sunday asked for immediate removal of the VC by the end of the day at the parliament. The wave of protests against the VC of SUST has spread to other university campuses also. An increasing number of students and teachers from different public universities have expressed solidarity with the continuing movement of SUST students. On Thursday, students of different universities, including Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Rajshahi University, Khulna University and Cumilla University, staged demonstrations on their campuses, bringing out processions and holding rallies in solidarity with the SUST movement.

The Jahangirnagar University Teachers' Association on Thursday condemned the SUST VC's "offensive remarks" about the female students of Jahangirnagar University. In a recently leaked audio clip, the SUST VC is heard saying, "No one wants to marry Jahangirnagar University girls easily."On the other hand, SUST Teachers formed a human chain on the campus alleging that the anti-VC students are making indecent remarks on teachers. This has brought the teachers and students face to face. Till now, no strong movement from the government was visible to resolve the stalemate and the situation can go bizarre if some harm happens to the protesting students.

The whole situation took this chaotic form mostly due to the intervention of the law enforcers in ending the protest of the students. The law enforcers cannot be blamed here as they acted upon the information and allegations submitted towards them. But the university authority is to be blamed here. While there was option to solve the issue peacefully, calling for law enforcement agency's intervention was unnecessary and cruel. Students are like the children of the teachers and they should have been treated with respect and affection. But the SUST authority failed to do so and now the situation is very fierce.

Students have played important roles in every political and non-political movement in our country. We cannot forget their contribution in 1952 Language Movement, 1971 Liberation War, Anti-Ershad Movement of late '90s etc. In the future also, they will play a great role. They must be treated with respect. The appointment of VC is somewhat political in Bangladesh as it was claimed by many education experts including former SUST teacher and renowned author Prof Muhammed ZafarIqbal. Though we cannot deny the involvement of political influence in appointing VC of different public and even private universities, the works of a university must go on independently. Placing unfit people at such important roles can hurt the whole education system of Bangladesh and the government must change their policy in this regard.

If we do not entertain the justified demand of the students and allow beating of the protesting students, our country will lose its character. We will see larger protests in other universities. On the other hand, giving in to the demands of the students may create opportunity for future protests in other universities. It is a both-way-blade like scenario right now as the future remains in jeopardy. Neither the university nor the students can come out as clear winners as it will empower the winning party to stage such incidents again and ultimately, the education will be harmed. Hence, it is important that, the proper authority steps in soon to control the situation right now before the situation deters any further.

Whatever the case is, we must keep quality education as our focus. Without mutual respect between the teachers and students, no institution can ensure quality education. Instability or turbulence at the educational institutions is never welcome. Though we have seen few strong protests at public universities during the last few years, all were solved peacefully with proper intervention. We hope similar will happen at SUST. The government must intervene as a solution is always available. Nurturing the unfit people will not help much. They must act to restore trust between the students and the teachers, which is vital for quality education.

We hope the students' protest at SUST ends soon peacefully. It is not a matter of winning rather a matter of ensuring quality education. The students are the future of this nation and they will carry on the development which has been the characteristics of Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the last decade. If the relevant authority can realize it soon, then we believe a solution is possible as we wait for that.
The writer is Editor at Mohammadi News Agency (MNA) and Executive Editor at Kishore Bangla