Agitating teachers and students of Jahangirnagar University have enforced an all-out strike to press their demand for the resignation of the institution’s Vice Chancellor Farzana Islam over corruption allegations.
The agitators laid a siege to old and new administrative buildings since 7am on Wednesday (Oct 2), halting all administrative activities. The strike will continue until 4pm.
The teachers who joined the movement abstained from giving classes. No buses could leave the campus to take teachers and students to the university due to the strike.
The agitators are demanding resignation of the vice chancellor for her alleged involvement in corruption and embezzlement of money from development projects of the university.
Shahidul Islam, a spokesperson of the agitators, said, “We gave the vice chancellor time until Oct 1 to step down. But she did not do that. Now we’ll remove her through movement.”
He said they will go for strike on Thursday too to realise their demand. “Tougher programme will be enforced later if the vice chancellor does not quit.”
Meanwhile, pro-vice chancellor teachers’ platform – Bangabandhu Teachers Council – has announced two-day programmes to project Farzana Islam. The programmes include formation of a human chain on Wednesday and mass contact on Thursday.
The vice chancellor on Tuesday expressed her unwillingness to resign in the face of the movement. “As the resignation demand is void of logic, I am not willing to quit,” she told reporters at his office.