The students of the Asian University for Woman in the Chittagong city on Thursday protested at the unilateral expulsion of 11 students and suspension of one student by the university authorities.
The students broke open the main gate, which had been locked to prevent them from coming out of the campus of the residential university, and formed a human chain and sat in at the entrance.
About 100 students from three batches chanted slogans, demanding cancellation of the expulsion order. Till filing of this report, they were continuing their sit-in outside the gate and barred the university officials from coming out of the campus on Mohammad Ali Road.
Meanwhile, journalists were barred from entering the campus by the university authorities. Security personnel scuffed with the newsmen as they were trying to enter the campus.
Samanta, an expelled student, told New Age that the eleven students were expelled and the other one was suspended without giving any prior warning and without any valid ground either.
'We are deeply frustrated and we have been treated unfairly. Our future is uncertain as we cannot take admission to any other public university,' added Samanta.
The expulsion notice was served from the AUW authorities on June 12, 2011 on behalf of the provost, Mary J Sansalone.
'The students were not informed about the provision of expulsion in the ordinance. Where the students would go now?' said Mehejabeen, a student of the university.
Mohammad Mosharraf, guardian of an expelled student told New Age that he was gravely concerned about his daughter's academic future. 'Now I cannot admit my daughter to any university as three and a half years have already passed,' he lamented.
Mary J Sansalone told newsmen that the expelled students failed to perform up to the mark. 'We have nothing to do with the decision of expulsion,' she affirmed.
The students, however, raised question that if the expelled students were not up to the mark, how did they continue for four years in the university?
The authorities were trying to eliminate the Bangladeshi students as they got scholarships, the protesters alleged. The students said the university authorities opted for the decision to deprive the local students of their rights.
The university is a non-profit organisation and 25 per cent students here are to be from Bangladesh.
Sara Ali Babaie, a former teacher of social science department, AUW, told New Age that the university was running without any transparency or concrete policy. The present provost had established a kind of dictatorship and it should end now, she demanded.
The students pressed their five-point demand, including allowing them to prove their qualification by achieving a GPA 2.0 in the next Fall semester, 2011; in case of being failed in any subject, students should be given the option for retaking the subject or appear in the examinations again, students should be provided the option of changing the major, an academic advisor should be appointed, who would aware of the university policies and is able to provide students with informed advice, Asian University for Women should formulate clear, transparent policies with the involvement of faculty deans and students.
Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station, told New Age that the students were continuing blockade and sit in programmes. No untoward incident was reported, he added.
Source : New Age
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