Demand for Renaming Degree at Bhasani University
Students again on fast unto death
Students of food technology and nutritional science department of Maolana Bhasani University of Science and Technology start fast unto death at Shaheed Smrity Poura Udyan in Tangail town yesterday to press for their two-point demand including BSc (Engineering) degree instead of BSc (Honours) degree. Photo: STAR
Over 200 students of Food Technology and Nutritional Science (FTNS) department at Maolana Bhasani University of Science and Technology (MBUST) in Tangail have started fast unto death again yesterday. The programme is being held at Shaheed Smrity Pouro Udyan in the town to realise their two-point demand. The demands are immediate removal of the vice-chancellor (VC) of the university and conferring BSc (Engineering) degree instead of BSc (Honours) degree on the FTNS students. The agitating students vowed that this time they will continue the programme until death to realise the demands in black and white. The students of the department have been boycotting their classes since July 12 last year and holding series of agitation programme demanding BSc (Engineering) degree in place of BSc (Honours) degree. To defuse agitation, the university authorities declared the FTNS department closed for indefinite period twice. They also filed two criminal cases against 180 students of the department, expelled 45 of them and declared all students of the department 'unwanted' on the campus bringing allegations against them. At this stage, the agitating FTNS students started fast unto death programme on Tangail Shaheed Minar premises on March 19 to realise their seven-point demand including renaming of degree. After three days, the students suspended their programme when the authorities assured them of considering their demands without delay. Final year student of the department Abdullah Al Hadi told this correspondent that 52 days have already gone after the assurance but nothing has been done to implement the students' demand. He blamed the VC solely for it. Contacted, Prof M Nurul Islam, vice-chancellor (VC) of MBUST termed the demand for renaming of degree by the FTNS students illogical. “Actually we cannot manage the agitating students as a local powerful political quarter is instigating them to continue their meaningless agitation. The vested quarter is doing this in order to realise their personal interests,” the VC said, without elaborating. Agitating FTNS students, however, said they are forced to go for fast unto death as their demand is logical. "Many universities at home and abroad are giving engineering degree to their food department students," said one of them. "We are not instigated by any quarter as we have been persistently demanding it. We have already lost about one year from our academic life due to the agitation,” the student added.
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