SUST acting VC, teachers freed after 13 hrs of captivity

A group of students besieged them demanding resumption of classes and resolution of the teachers' crisis, which led to the suspension of classes by the teachers. They also locked the main gate of the Administrative Building at around 3:30pm to put pressure on the Academic Council.

The group did not withdraw the siege even after the Academic Council members including the acting VC, after a meeting on Sunday, told them about the decision to resume classes from October 26.

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However, the teachers said they would not take additional classes other than those defined by the University Grants Commission. The students then pressed for a written statement from the authorities, which they declined.

At about 8:30pm, a group of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activists went to talk them out of their rigid position but failed. The JCD men also physically assaulted some of the students, sources said.

As all the moves fell apart, members of the Academic Council were held in captivity in the Administrative Building for the whole night while police were deployed at the university gate. Later, the group withdrew the siege early in the morning.

Acting VC Prof Mosleh Uddin Ahmed told The Daily Star the authorities were keen to start classes of the first semester of the first year honours courses from October 26 while classes of other semesters would begin from November 2.

He also hoped the advertisement for appointment of 38 teachers would soon come out in newspapers.

The teachers have been declining to take classes on the plea of acute shortage of teaching staff for the last two months. Although student organisations were agitating for the resumption of classes, the authorities failed to convince the teachers association.

Some senior teachers expressed anger at the unruly behaviour of the students who confined the teachers for 13 hours.