DU Teachers' Association worried about campus atmosphere after brawl over senate meeting

Dhaka University Teachers' Association has condemned what it describes as 'a scheme to damage the education atmosphere of the university by using' the recent teacher-student brawl over a senate meeting.

The association issued a statement on Tuesday on its letterhead, but without the signature of its President ASM Maksud Kamal, known to be one of the pro-Awami League teachers against Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique.

Maksud Kamal said the others issued the statement without informing him about it.

Vice-President Prof Shibli Rubaiyatul Islam and General Secretary Md Rahmat Ullah signed the statement.

On Saturday, the Dhaka University Senate held a meeting to elect VC candidates ahead of the end of Arefin Siddique's tenure on Aug 24.

At least two teachers and six students, who were protesting against the meeting for not having their representatives, were injured in a brawl outside the Senate Building during the meeting.

"Such an incident aims to destroy the beautiful atmosphere created by the current administration in past eight years," the Teachers' Association said.

The statement also said the association believes that different quarters came up with different explanations on the incident 'in a bid to create misunderstanding between the teachers and students'.

"We are shocked and worried,” the statement read.

"A university is a place for union of teachers and students. No one is the other's opponent here. We urge every related quarter to play a responsible and sensible role," it added.

The association's President Kamal told bdnews24.com later in the night the statement was released without informing him after the members convened in a 'sudden meeting'.

"The general secretary called me and said they are holding an emergency meeting at night. I told him that I won't be able to attend it. Then he said he would read out the statement to me if they issued any. But he didn't do it.

"I know nothing about the statement," he added.