RUET teachers start strike to protest student demonstrations

Teachers at the Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) have gone on strike to protest against student demonstrations, even after the administration accepted the students' demands.

Rajshahi University Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 6 Feb 2017, 05:34 AM
Updated : 6 Feb 2017, 05:34 AM

Teachers will boycott classes and exams from Monday until the students who protested are punished, said the university’s Teacher’s Association President Nirendranath Mustafi.

Students laid siege to RUET’s administrative building from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon to protest against a new university rule that required students to complete 33 credits a year in order to be promoted to the next.

An ‘emergency meeting’ of the Academic Council accepted the students’ demands on Sunday, bringing an end to the siege.

Meanwhile, students circulated offensive comments against teachers on social media, claims Nirendranath Mustafi.

“Teachers were besieged, shamed and insulted during the 24-hour strike. Teachers have taken the decision to boycott all classes and exams until the students involved are punished.”

RUET's adoption of a new rule requiring students to secure a minimum of 33 out of 40 possible credits in an academic year for promotion to the next sparked the student demonstrations.

Students objected that no other engineering institution in the country had such strict requirements and that students would be inconvenienced if they had to miss classes due to illness or some other problem.

Students who enrolled during the 2013-14 and 2014-2015 academic years began demonstrations demanding a return to the old ‘Carry On’ system, where students could be promoted even if they did not pass one or two classes.