JnU students gather at Secretariat to press demands

Around 200 students from Jagannath University (JnU) gathered at Gate 1 of the Secretariat this afternoon, demanding inclusion in a pilot project of the University Grants Commission (UGC) alongside Dhaka University along with a number of other issues.
The demonstration, originated from the university campus moved to the Secretariat around 2:00pm via the Shikkha Bhaban.
In response, authorities closed all entry and exit points of the Secretariat, and security was heightened, according to our correspondent on the spot.
“We expected someone from the relevant authority to come and speak to us at Shikkha Bhaban,” a protesting student said. “Since that did not happen, we have moved to the Secretariat.”
He added that the police had attempted to block their way near Bidyut Bhaban (the headqaurter of the Bangladesh Power Development Board) as they approached the Secretariat.
Earlier in the day, thousands of JnU students marched from their campus to the Shikkha Bhaban around 11:30am and as of 2:00pm the students were still at the Shikkha Bhaban.
Around 2,000 students marched from the campus, eventually reaching the Shikkha Bhaban where they submitted a memorandum outlining a three-point demand.
The students’ demands include removal of a “corrupt” project director appointed during the former autocratic regime and the appointment of a competent military officer as director within a week.
They also urged the ministry to transfer control of the university’s second campus development project to the army, with a clear outline of the handover process and priority given to student housing.
Additionally, the students called for the acquisition of 11 remaining acres of land and the cancellation of what they described as “unethical agreements” (drawn up during the previous regime) regarding the university’s old campus.
On November 7, UGC proposed an amendment to the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) project to secure funding for uninterrupted high-speed broadband connections in university residential halls and scholarship opportunities for underprivileged, talented students. Dhaka University was selected to roll out the pilot project.