All BUET undergrad, term examinations postponed until Sept 18

The announcement comes as BUET students, joined by peers from other engineering institutions, continue demonstrations in Dhaka

All undergraduate and term examinations at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) have been postponed from Aug 30 to Sept 18.

The emergency notice published on the institution’s website on Wednesday said, “A decision regarding the undergraduate level exams will be taken later through discussions in the Academic Council.”

The notification was signed by BUET Registrar (Additional Charge) Prof NM Golam Zakaria.

The announcement came as BUET students, joined by peers from other engineering institutions, continued demonstrations in Dhaka.

On Wednesday, they blocked the Shahbagh intersection from 11am, a day after occupying the same spot from 3pm to 8pm, causing severe traffic disruptions across the area for a second day.

Later in the day, protesters began marching toward the chief advisor’s official residence at the State Guest House Jamuna, but police stopped them near the InterContinental Dhaka hotel intersection.

Security forces used batons, water cannons, tear gas and sound grenades to disperse the crowd, sparking clashes.

Several students and police officers were injured.

Videos of the crackdown, particularly baton charges on students, quickly spread across social media, drawing widespread criticism.

Following the confrontation, students regrouped at Shahbagh and continued their protest.

At around 5pm, they issued five demands, including an apology from the home advisor for the police action, and warned they would continue their sit-in demonstration until their demands were met.

Later in the evening, two government advisors met student representatives at the Rail Bhaban.

By 9:15pm, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sheikh Md Sazzat Ali and other senior officials arrived at Shahbagh to express regret over the incident.

After 10pm, the students ended their road blockade.

On Thursday, however, student leaders announced a complete shutdown of all engineering educational institutions. They declared that no classes or exams would take place across the country’s engineering campuses.