Students of Barishal University (BU) have staged a sit-in program demanding the resignation of Vice Chancellor Prof  Dr. Sucharita Sharmin. From the sit-in program, they called for the immediate resignation or removal of the Vice Chancellor on Monday. 

 

From 12 PM, the protesting students began their sit-in on the university's ground floor. After the sit-in, around 1 PM, they held a protest march through various roads of the university, starting from the ground floor. The procession passed in front of the VC’s bungalow, circled the Dhaka-Kuakata highway, and concluded at the ground floor.

 

In the protest march, students were seen chanting slogans demanding resignation of the VC.

 

Rakib Ahmed, a protesting student and university convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said, “This VC has completely failed to embody the spirit of the university. In the past eight months, she has made the university unstable through various irregularities and corruption. She does not care about rules and regulations.The protestors also said, “Out of concern for public inconvenience, we haven’t shut down the southern region. But from the day after tomorrow, we might be compelled to take strict measures, including shutting down the entire southern region.”Protesting student Mokabbir Sheikh said, “This authoritarian VC must resign immediately. She has been reinstating fascists in the administration one after another. When we protested these irregularities, she unjustly filed cases against us. According to regulations, a VC is supposed to stay on campus full-time, but ours remains absent most of the time. As a result, administrative stagnation has occurred, and the university is unable to function normally.Shahidul Islam Shahed, one of the coordinators of the July Movement and convener of the Barishal Metropolitan Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said, the protest has been ongoing for three weeks over various demands. She could have sat with the students if she wanted, but she paid no attention to any of the demands. It is mentioned  that on April 17, students began the movement protesting the reinstatement of autocracy in the university administration and the harassment of those who supported the July Movement. On the 18th day of the movement, students announced the one-point demand for the Vice Chancellor’s resignation.