The ongoing student movement at Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) for the appointment of a vice-chancellor from within the university has gained further momentum with teachers, officials, and employees joining the cause.
They united in solidarity with the students’ “complete shutdown” programme, staging a rally, forming a human chain, and marching through the campus today (7 October).
The demonstrations began at 9:30am, with participants gathering for a rally on the campus before holding a human chain in front of the university’s Shahid Minar.
The students and faculty expressed frustration over the prolonged vacancy in the university’s top leadership, calling for a qualified vice-chancellor to be appointed from among the professors of CVASU, according to a press release from the public relation department of the university.
Speakers at the rally highlighted that, since its establishment, CVASU has had five vice-chancellors, four of whom were professors from the institution. They emphasised that the university currently has many professors with the academic, research, and administrative experience necessary for the role.
“We have scholars who have excelled in teaching, domestic and international research, and publishing,” said one speaker. “The university needs one of its own to lead it forward.”
The demonstrators urged the government to quickly appoint a new vice-chancellor to break the current deadlock. They warned that if an external candidate is selected for the position, that individual would be blocked from entering the university.
“If a VC is appointed from outside, they will be welcomed only outside the gates, not inside CVASU,” one student leader declared, amid chants such as “No external VC for CVASU” and “Only a CVASU professor can open the gates to progress”.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the university’s general teachers, chaired by Professor Md Kamal, also voiced unanimous support for the movement. The attendees agreed to formally communicate their concerns to the higher authorities, pressing for an urgent resolution.
Students have been staging protests, road blockades, and torch marches since last Thursday, demanding that the vice-chancellor be selected from within the university. As a result of the “complete shutdown”, academic and administrative activities at CVASU have been suspended for two consecutive days.
