Authorities at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology has reopened all of the university's residential halls at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, more than a month after the university was closed due to tensions surrounding the death of professor Mohammad Selim Hossain.
According to a press release published by the institution on Friday, academic activity will resume on Sunday (January 9) following a 37-day closure.
The decisions were made at the KUET syndicate's 78th urgent meeting on December 23, 2021, according to the announcement.
The release also said that the students will have to follow some rules strictly as per the decision in the 79th urgent meeting of KUET syndicate on January 5.
The university authorities banned all kinds of processions and meetings by the students without prior permission and disallowed any kind of festoons, banners or posters of issues other than academic purposes.
The honours level residential students of the university’s 14th batch or its senior batches were asked to leave all of the halls by January 31, the release added.
On November 30, 2021, the university’s Lalan Shah Hall provost Selim Hossain, also a professor of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, died of heart attack allegedly after he had been mistreated by the activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, students wing of the ruling Awami League.
On December 1, the teachers and a section of students started boycotting classes demanding justice for his death.
On December 3, the KUET authorities announced the closure of the university till December 13, asking the students to leave their residential halls by the day and formed a probe committee over the university teacher’s death.
Later the university authorities extended the closure of the university twice till January 6 as the probe committee asked for more time.
On December 3, the university authorities ormed a probe committee to submit the report by 10 days and next day on December 4 suspended nine students — all of whom are activists of the KUET unit of the BCL including KUET BCL general secretary Sadman Nahian Shezan — for their alleged misconduct with the deceased professor.
On December 15, following the direction of a Khulna court, the body of the deceased teacher was exhumed from his grave in his Kushtia family graveyard.
The university authorities on December 30 issued a show-cause notice to 44 students over the unnatural death of the teacher.
On January 5, the university authorities expelled four students including university unit general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League Sadman Nahyan Sejan in connection with the unnatural death of the teacher Md Selim Hossain.
Seven students were suspended for two academic years and expelled from their respective dormitories.
Besides, Aniqur Rahman was suspended for one academic year and expelled from the dormitory.
Twenty-two other students were suspended for one academic year but their punishment will be effective in the future if any allegation of moral turpitude is proved correct.
Besides, 10 students were fined Tk 10,000 each.
But this punishment will not be effective now and they will get the punishment if any allegation of moral degradation is proved true in the future, as per the university authorities.
