Education adviser Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar on Wednesday called on the protesting students of the Khulna University of Engineering and Technology to end their fast unto death programme while visiting the university.
Disregarding the education adviser鈥檚 request, the students continued their fast unto death programme for the third consecutive day on Wednesday.
A total of 32 students began the strike on Monday afternoon demanding removal of the university vice-chancellor, Professor Mohammad Mashud, for his alleged failure to provide security to the students and instigation to file cases against protesters and for temporarily expelling 37 students.
Till Wednesday 12:00pm, at least 23 students were observing the fast unto death programme, said the university鈥檚 director of student welfare Professor Md Abdullah Elias Akhter.
The education adviser visited the university at about 10:00am on Wednesday.
Earlier on Tuesday he talked to some protesting students over phone and requested them to end their strike, assuring them of taking initiatives soon to address the situation.
The students however continued their strike.
After talking to the protesting students Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar told the journalists on Wednesday that a committee, formed with the representatives from the University Grants Commission, was probing the entire incident.
The ministry would take action when the report would be submitted, he added.
KUET Professor Md Abdullah Elias said that the adviser left the campus while the UGC committee members started to work.
On April 20, the protesting students gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the government to remove the vice-chancellor.
As their demand remained unmet, 32 students started a hunger strike on the campus at about 3:00pm on Monday.
By Tuesday evening six students have withdrawn hunger strike.
The current situation began unfolding on April 13 when a probe committee submitted its report to the KUET authorities following a violent clash between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party鈥檚 student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and the Students Against Discrimination on February 18 over a ban on student politics on the campus.
The clash left over 100 people injured.
Based on the report, the university, at its 101st syndicate meeting held on April 14, decided to temporarily expel 37 students for their involvement in the clash.
The decision triggered instant protests from the KUET students who started staging demonstrations on the campus from April 15, demanding the vice-chancellor鈥檚 resignation.
Earlier on August 11, 2024, the university banned on-campus student politics, the decision of which was iterated on a February 19 announcement.
All academic activities of the university have remained suspended along with all its halls remaining closed since February 25 as the impasse continues.
