SUST students’ meeting with education minister fails

The ongoing crisis centring the resignation of the Shahjalal University is becoming more critical as the meeting between the education minister and the students drew no result.

Minister Dipu Moni took part in the virtual meeting with the protesting students on Saturday night. As there was no visible solution in that meeting, there was a meeting scheduled to be held on Sunday afternoon, but the meeting was ultimately cancelled.

The agitating students said the education minister assured them of accepting all their demands except for the VC's resignation – which is the core issue of their movement.

Dipu Moni, on the other hand, called upon the students to suspend their fast unto death programme before the next meeting.

The agitating students on Sunday cut the utility connections of the VC's house.

Earlier at a press briefing on Sunday evening, they announced that they would confine the VC if he does not resign.

Five more students joined the students on a hunger strike yesterday. Of the total 28 students now, 16 are admitted to hospital.

On Sunday, Awami League Organising Secretary Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel came to the SUST campus as the representative of the education minister to meet the students. He also coordinated the online meeting Saturday from 12:30am till 2am.

He said that the education minister requested the students to suspend the hunger strike. 

Shafiul Islam also said that the minister is ready for any logical discussion but it would fail if the students remain strict in their position.    

Yasir Sarker, a representative of the agitating students, said they had a discussion with the representative of the education minister. 

"He called for suspending our fast unto death programme before any meeting. But we asked him whether it is a priority to save a man's post instead of so many people's life, which he could not answer," said Yasir.     

Awami League sources said if the students do not defer from their previous positions, there is little possibility of holding any discussion.

Threat to confine the VC again

Earlier, the students declared from the stage that no one except for the police will enter or come out of the VC's house after today (Sunday).

After the press briefing Sunday evening, Yasir Sarker said the students are continuing the fast unto death programme for about 100 hours. But there is no sign of his (VC) resignation. 

"If this situation continues, we will be bound to confine him again restricting all the emergency services of his home," he said.       

Students started a sit-in programme in front of the VC's house demanding his resignation on 17 January making him partially confined. They started fast unto death at the same spot on 23 January.  

Meanwhile, two students from Dhaka University arrived at SUST to express their solidarity with the demands of the protesters. The students are – Mahfuzur Rahman, a student of the bank and insurance department and Naim Hasan, a student of mass communication and journalism department.