CUET VC calls virtual syndicate meeting after hospital discharge

Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) Vice-Chancellor Prof Sheikh Shariful Alam has called a virtual syndicate meeting after returning to Chattogram Circuit House following treatment at Chattogram Medical College Hospital.

The meeting is scheduled for 6pm on Friday, but some syndicate members have expressed uncertainty over the procedure for convening it.

Prof Shariful returned to the Circuit House on Thursday afternoon after receiving treatment at the hospital. He was admitted there on Tuesday night after being rescued from the university’s administrative building, where he had remained confined for nearly 30 hours.

Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Miah and Superintendent of Police Md Masud Alam led the effort to bring him out of the building.

CUET’s Faculty of Architecture and Planning dean and a syndicate member Prof Md Rashidul Hasan, said the new VC had called the meeting through a message.

“He sent a message calling a virtual syndicate meeting at 6pm on Friday. I am on leave and am not sure whether I will be able to attend,” he said.

Another syndicate member, Prof Kazi Delwar Hossain, dean of the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, questioned whether a message was sufficient to convene the meeting.

Read More

CUET VC confined to office for nearly 21 hours

“He sent a message. I do not know whether a syndicate meeting can be called this way or whether it complies with the rules. Usually, the meeting notice comes through the registrar,” he said.

Repeated calls and a text message sent to Prof Shariful seeking comment on the meeting went unanswered.

Notably, academic activities at the CUET have remained suspended since 22 September amid the protests. Students have staged various demonstrations including torch processions and red-card showing.

Prof Sayem who took charge as VC on 27 July was replaced by Prof Shariful of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology on 21 September.

Students began protesting from that night and later announced a shutdown demanding Prof Sayem’s reinstatement.

Prof Shariful joined as the VC online on 24 September.

Amid the ongoing protests, he entered the campus around 9am on Monday and broke the lock on the VC’s building to enter his office, accompanied by leaders of the Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal.

Protesting students began gathering in front of the building around 9:30am after learning of his arrival. They gave him until noon to leave the office and later locked the building’s entrance after the deadline passed. They also disconnected its electricity supply.

The VC and 10 others were trapped inside. The following day, Shariful reported feeling unwell, prompting two doctors to visit him for medical examinations.

After nearly 30 hours, he was rescued with the assistance of the district administration and police and taken to hospital for treatment.

The leadership dispute remains unresolved, with students maintaining their shutdown and continuing to demand Professor Sayem’s reinstatement.