Buet postpones exams amid student boycott

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) authorities have postponed its exams amid students' boycott of academic activities as part of their protest against politics on campus.

The decision was taken on Saturday evening through an academic council meeting.

The students have been boycotting their classes and exams, protesting Chhatra League activists’ gatherings at the campus where political activities are not allowed. As part of the ongoing movement against student politics on campus, Buet students have been boycotting the exams even after the Eid holidays.

A member of the academic council, seeking anonymity, said: “The authorities postponed the exams considering the overall situation. The fresh exam schedule will be announced at a convenient time.”

On March 27, Chhatra League President Saddam Hussain, along with other leaders and activists, entered the Buet campus when Beut student and Chhatra League activist Imtiaz Rahim Rabbi was present and allegedly played a vital role in facilitating the entry by the Chhatra League men.

On March 29, a group of Buet students staged demonstrations against the alleged activities of Bangladesh Chhatra League activists on campus.

Amid student protests, Buet authorities canceled the hall allocation of Rabbi on March 30, but no decision was made about his expulsion as per the demands of the students.

The Buet students on April 2 appealed to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, seeking her intervention to maintain their campus as a zone free of political activities.

This request was articulated through an open letter to the prime minister, which was shared during a press briefing in front of the Prof MA Rashid Administrative building on the Buet campus.

Student politics at Buet was prohibited following the tragic incident where a group of Chhatra League members brutally tortured second-year student Abrar Fahad, resulting in his death at the university's Sher-e-Bangla Hall on October 7, 2019.

However, on April 1, a bench of the High Court held the effectiveness of the university notice that banned student politics on the campus.