Bangladesh, students donate blood in protest against university corruption
Dhaka
(AsiaNews / Agencies) - Blood donations to demand their right to study without
political interference or corruption is the form of protest chosen by hundreds
of students and professors of the Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), the oldest and most important
technical faculty in the country. For
more than three months students and faculty staff have been calling for the resignation
of the Vice Chancellor Nazrul Islam, and the Pro-Vice Chancellor (VC), Habimur
Raman, accusing them of favouritism on the basis of political affiliation.
Students
denounce the VC of having transgressed one of the cornerstones of academic
regulation, according to which faculty positions are not awarded according seniority,
but on the academic skills learned in previous administrative experience. Prof. Raman,
appointed by Islam as its Pro-VC does not fall into this category, but it was
imposed by the government for political reasons. The
VC avoided all confrontation over the demand for his resignation and instead
closed the entire faculty on July 10 last, ahead of 30 days holidays for
Ramadan.
Once
the holy month of fasting ended, the VC reopened the BUET, but students and
professors refuse to attend lessons, and have staged sit-ins and marches. In
response, two days ago the president filed a complaint against hundreds of professors,
accusing them (falsely) of vandalism, theft and damage to the offices of Pro-VC
and VC. Instead
reacting to this provocation, yesterday some students gathered outside
university and collected a bottle each of their blood. Then,
they sprinkled a few drops on the stairs in front of the office of the VC,
speaking of "voluntary shedding of blood." After
holding a procession around the campus, even the teachers joined them and they
decided to donate their blood.
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16/01/2023 13:47
