The start of construction works for Jagannath University’s (JnU) full-fledged campus in Dhaka’s Keraniganj has been approved as the interim government’s “first mega project”, Education Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud told reporters at the Secretariat on Tuesday.

There is problem in appointing the army for the construction works to honour the students’ demands, he added.

It is worth noting that in a separate meeting with JnU students, the adviser pledged to handover the project to the army, ending the students’ movement organised to press home the demand.

The movement was unnecessary and was a result of misunderstanding, something the students themselves have acknowledged, Wahiduddin Mahmud told reporters.

Much of the demands were fulfilled, without the students’ knowledge, even before they took to the streets on Monday, the adviser noted.

“The project for building Jagannath University’s new campus in Keraniganj was in the Planning Commission. I passed it at an ECNEC meeting on my own initiative. It is a large self-contained campus project, the kind of which has never been done before. Jahangirnagar University and Chittagong University became such big campuses at the end of the Pakistan period,” he told reporters after a meeting with Jagannath University authorities at his office on Tuesday.

“There was a dilemma whether we would take up such a mega project. The documents for extension of its tenure were pending with the Planning Commission for a long time. I passed it at ECNEC. It can be called a mega project for the Interim Government,” he said.

The education adviser also said, "We have understood the students' demands. Why has the campus construction work not been completed for so many years? Why was the land acquisition not completed? They said that there are many corruptions of the project director. Let the university administration investigate it, and appoint a new project director if necessary."

Regarding giving the campus work to the army, the education adviser said, "The students want the army to implement the campus construction project. There is no problem with that if the Jagannath University administration wants to do it. In this case, the Ministry of Education has no objection to entrusting the campus work to the army. Rather, we will cooperate on how to communicate with the army."

Education Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud said, "We have accepted many demands of the students. I am sick, but still I listen to them. Officials of the UGC and Ministry of Education were here. Students have shown us respect. We have hope for them."

On behalf of Jagannath University, its Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Rezaul Karim, Treasurer Professor Dr Sabina Sharmin, Proctor Dr Tajammul Haque, Professor Dr Rais Uddin and two student representatives Tausif Mahmud Sohan and AKM Rakib were present at the meeting.

Earlier, on Monday, thousands of JnU students surrounded the secretariat with a 5-point demand including the demand of handing over the work of the second campus to the army.

They demanded bringing to book the corrupt project director appointed during the fascist Awami League regime, handing over the campus construction work to competent army officers within seven days, immediately acquiring the 11 acres of land needed for the project, cancelling all agreements with the old campus of the fascist regime, including Jagannath University in the pilot project recently announced by UGC, and allocating at least Tk500 crore for the annual budget of the university.