Rajshahi, Dec 22 (V7N) — Six deans of Rajshahi University resigned on Sunday night, December 21, after a day-long student protest disrupted campus operations. The university’s Public Relations Administrator, Professor Akhtar Hossain Majumdar, confirmed that the deans expressed their inability to carry out their responsibilities during a meeting held at 8:00 pm.

Professor Majumdar stated that discussions had been held with both students and the deans, during which the deans acknowledged their incapacity to perform their duties. The Vice-Chancellor is expected to make a decision regarding the matter on Monday, December 22.

The six deans who resigned are Professor Dr. Abu Naser Md. Wahid (Faculty of Law), Professor Dr. Nasima Akhtar (Faculty of Science), Professor Dr. A. S. M. Kamruzzaman (Faculty of Business Studies), Professor Dr. S. M. Ekram Ullah (Faculty of Social Sciences), Professor Dr. Bimal Kumar Pramanik (Faculty of Engineering), and Professor Dr. A. H. M. Selim Reza (Faculty of Geology).

Professor S. M. Ekram Ullah, Dean of Social Sciences, stated, “I am not fully aware of what happened today, but we have expressed that we do not wish to continue performing our duties.” Attempts to reach Vice-Chancellor Professor Saleh Hasan Naqib via mobile phone were unsuccessful.

Earlier on Sunday morning, students went to the Deans’ Complex around 10:00 am, demanding the resignation of the six pro-Awami League deans. The students locked the chambers of the deans in several campus buildings, noting that none of the deans attended their classes that day. Around 2:30 pm, students moved to the Registrar’s Office to press their demands. The branch unit’s General Secretary, Mujahid Faisal, stated that the students would not leave until their demands were addressed. Subsequently, students also locked the offices of the Registrar, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, and Proctor. The locks were removed after roughly half an hour, and university administrators held a meeting with students, adjourning it with plans to reconvene later that night without any immediate decisions.

The resignations come after the faculty, deans, syndicate, planning and development committee, and education council elections were held on December 17, 2023. Out of 12 faculty dean elections, six pro-Awami League candidates were elected from the yellow panel. Their official term concluded last Wednesday, but the Vice-Chancellor allowed them to remain in office until new elections were conducted in accordance with university regulations.

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