Teachers, students, and guardians jointly formed a human chain on Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet) campus on Wednesday urging immediate action to restore academic activities and appoint a permanent VC.
The KUET has remained in academic limbo for the past five months following the departure of its vice-chancellor, disrupting the education of more than 7,500 students and halting essential administrative work.
The absence of a VC has brought critical functions such as semester exams, thesis reviews, research activities, leave approvals, scholarships, and international collaborations to a standstill.
"We are falling behind compared to every other university in the country," said Md Abu Sayem, a student of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department.
"Our future is in limbo. Many of us still have one or two semester exams left. We urge the authorities to take swift action," he added.
Md Rafiqul Islam, dean of the Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, said the university had never seen such session jams in its 51-year history.
"A university simply cannot function without a VC. I've visited the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the education ministry myself, but no progress has been made," he said.
Md Harun-or-Rashid, dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, likened Kuet to a family without a guardian.
"This is possibly the only public university that has remained leaderless for such a long time," he said.
Faruq Hossain, general secretary of the Kuet Teachers' Association, said they had written to both the UGC and the education ministry multiple times since May and held meetings, including one on Jul 27, but to no avail.
He added "Through social media and direct communication with students and guardians, we realised the frustration was growing. Today's demonstration is a collective call to the government: this university cannot operate without a vice-chancellor. Appoint one now."
Shahidul Islam, president of the Teachers' Association, explained the structural limitations: "In 2003, four BITs were converted into universities, Kuet being one of them. Unlike the 1973 Act universities (like Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, and Jagannath), Kuet is governed by the 1971 Act, which offers academic autonomy but not administrative autonomy. Even for matters like residential allotments, the VC's signature is mandatory. This structural constraint makes the VC's role absolutely essential."
