Home
+
Published : 24 Jun 2025, 09:18 PM
Protesting students of Dhaka Medical College (DMC) have refused to return to classes, saying their key demands, including a permanent residence solution, have remained unmet.
The decision to continue the boycott came after a meeting with the Principal Md Kamrul Alam around 11:30am on Tuesday.
In a statement issued later, student representatives said they were not ready to resume academic activities until concrete steps were taken to resolve the residence crisis, particularly for the newest batch, K-82.
Students have been boycotting classes since May 28, pressing a five-point charter of demands involving safe and adequate accommodation.
On Saturday, amid the protests, the college was declared shut indefinitely and students were instructed to vacate their residential halls by Sunday. But the directive was defied.
In a statement, the protesting students said they had met Sayedur Rahman, the chief advisor’s special assistant, on Monday to press for urgent residence measures.
During the meeting, they were told that two new hostels for DMC would be included in a national development project that aims to build 19 halls for government medical colleges, it added
They were assured that the plan would be prioritised at the upcoming meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in early July, according to the statement.
While the students welcomed this development, they noted that no immediate or specific solution was offered for housing the K-82 batch.
“We raised the issue in [Tuesday’s] meeting, but the principal could not give a clear plan, though he assured us that something would be done,” the statement read.
“Given this uncertainty, we are continuing our class boycott.”
It added that students from batches K-78 to K-81 had been shifted from a condemned fourth floor to relatively safer rooms, but the K-82 batch still had no designated residence.
Students said they would halt the movement and return to classes if the administration ensured a proper residence arrangement for K-82.
Though the college administration declared a shutdown last weekend, students have stayed in their dorms and continued both their protest and dialogue efforts.
On Sunday, they met with college authorities but said they received “no assurances” on their demands. The following day, a seven-member student delegation, accompanied by the principal, visited the health division under the Secretariat.
They sought a meeting with the ministry’s top advisor, but met with Sayedur instead.
