The ongoing student protest at Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET) has now transformed from six demands to a single-point demand; the resignation of current Vice Chancellor, Professor Dr. Mohammad Masud as of Tuesday afternoon.
At around 1:30 PM on Tuesday (April 15), following a protest rally held at in front of the university’s Student Welfare Center, the protesting students held a press briefing where they officially announced their one-point demand.
Meanwhile, students have broken six locked residential halls and are now staying inside. They have informed the media that they plan to remain there overnight.
In a written statement, they accused the VC of failing to ensure student safety, refusing to take responsibility, cutting off essential services like water and internet to force students out of the halls, inciting legal action against protestors and expelling students involved in the movement.
Citing these reasons, they stated the VC’s removal is now their only demand, along with a call for a neutral investigation under a new VC.
Previously, students had announced they would return to campus after Eid. On April 13, around 150 students entered the campus in the afternoon and staged a sit-in in front of the university's administrative building.
They submitted a written request to the authorities demanding that the closed residential halls be reopened by 8 PM on Sunday.
When KUET authorities did not respond to the request, students spent the night in front of the administrative building.
On the following day, the protest continued in the same location.
Later On Monday evening at 7 PM, the university administration called an emergency syndicate meeting.
Based on the decisions from that meeting, 37 students were temporarily suspended for their alleged involvement in the incident that occurred on February 18.
It was also decided that academic activities would resume from May 4 and all residential halls would reopen on May 2.
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