Tawhid Islam, BSMRSTU :
The students of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University are going to join another movement again. Several hundred students started protest in front of university administration building on Tuesday last to press their 17 points demand including reducing semester fees, admission fees, seat rent and cancelling department development fees.
The students alleged that the university authority received extra money from them in every sector. Every year each student of BSMRSTU is required to pay Tk. 12,000 to 15,000 for admission fee, examination fee and development fee. Abdullah al Raju a student of Bangla Department said, “Education is not a product which has to be bought with money; we broke the chain of exploitation and drove the dictator Khondakar Nasiruddin. We will not compromise with any wrongdoing further and we will not charge any additional fees”. He said, they will continue their movement until their demands is met.
The acting vice-chancellor of BSMRSTU Prof Dr Md. Shahjahan said, “We are positive on these issues. Financial matters must be sanctioned by our Finance Committee and the Board of Regents. I have already taken initiative to implement this, but as I’m acting vice-chancellor, this could not be done.”
Apart from this around hundred students of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) arranged a sit-in program yesterday in front of their department demanding the re-investigation of sexual assault case of two female students by Akkas Ali, Assistant Professor of CSE Department.
Before that, on 4th November a call record licked where Dr Abdur Rahim Khan, Head of the probe committee which made on 7th April to investigate the sexual harassment issue told Akkas Ali that in the probe report they said Akkas Ali is innocent and Vice Chancellor Prof Khondokar Nasiruddin is positive to him. On that call record Abdur Rahim also said that the punishment was basically to stop the movement of the students and after two or three months the Vice-Chancellor will solve it.
About this call record Abdur Rahim khan said to this correspondent, “Akkas Ali was crying so I said that to comfort him”
The agitating students submitted an application yesterday to University registrar Prof Dr Nuruddin Ahmed demanding the re-investigation of that sexual harassment issue. A student who did not want to be named said, “If authority didn’t take proper steps we will make a strong movement” Dr Nuruddin Ahmed confirmed that he received that application and said he already forwarded that to the Vice-Chancellor. Vice chancellor (acting) Prof Dr Md Shahjahan said ‘I received the application and I will take necessary steps about that’.
