Published : 23 Sep 2026, 01:42 PM
Updated : 23 Sep 2026, 01:42 PM
Students of the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) have continued to demand the reinstatement of their vice-chancellor as protests roll into a second day.
The students have been boycotting classes and exams and have kept the main gate of CUET locked since Wednesday morning.
They also launched a mass signature collection programme around 11:30am.
A protesting student told bdnews24.com, “Today, we are collecting signatures en masse as part of the programme to protest the removal of CUET vice-chancellor Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem. All students will take part in the programme.
“We have boycotted all classes and exams. A complete shutdown has been announced at CUET. Our programme will continue until our demands are met.”
Earlier on Tuesday morning, students launched a shutdown programme. Later in the afternoon, they announced that they would continue the programme until their demands were met.
Due to the protests, no classes and exams were held at CUET on Tuesday. No activities could be conducted in the administrative building either.
The CUET Teachers' Association expressed solidarity with the students' demands.
On Tuesday, it was announced during the students' sit-in programme at the campus Shaheed Minar that all academic activities of CUET, classes, exams, labs and administrative activities will be suspended until the protesters’ demands are met.
However, in the interests of emergency and humanitarian services, the security wing and medical services will be exempted from the programme.
The protesters said the programme will not be called off until Prof Sayem is reinstated as the vice-chancellor.
On Monday, Sheikh Shariful Alam, a professor of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), was appointed as CUET’s new VC.
Sayem, a professor of CUET’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, had taken charge on Jul 27.
He was removed on Monday, just 56 days after taking charge, and a new vice-chancellor was appointed.
The decision on Monday night angered students.
They held a protest march from the Swadhinata Chattar of the campus around 10:30pm that night. Other students also left their hall residences to join in the procession. They locked down the administrative building around midnight.
On Tuesday morning, the students continued their protest by locking the main entrance to the campus. Prof Sayem came to the campus around 1:30pm on Tuesday. The students had unlocked the main gate at the time.
On Tuesday night, CUET's main gate was locked once again, with some students taking up positions nearby.
