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Students of the Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) have started clearing out of residential halls after the university administration ordered their closure at a syndicate meeting.
Students from 10 halls in KUET began leaving the campus on Wednesday morning, with most heading home, reports bdnews24.com.
The decision to close the halls indefinitely was made during the 99th emergency meeting of the syndicate, the university's highest policy-making forum, on Tuesday.
All students were asked to leave by 10am on Wednesday.
The decision sparked protests on campus on Tuesday night, with students claiming that various forms of "pressure" were being applied to suppress, divert, and prolong their movement.
Several departing students said they no longer feel safe on campus after the administration's order to vacate the halls and were going home for their own security.
However, they hope the crisis will soon be resolved and the academic environment restored.
Despite the evacuation order, some students were still in the halls past 11am. Additional police personnel have been deployed outside the university’s main gate since the morning to prevent any disturbances.
The university authorities suspended all academic activities on Tuesday, a week after clashes over the demand to ban student politics on campus.
Earlier on Feb 19, KUET authorities decided to halt all academic activities until Feb 28 to ensure the students’ safety at another syndicate meeting.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday afternoon, a group of students went to lock the vice-chancellor's residence again, demanding his resignation.
They also said they would return but left without following through on their plan after discussions with teachers.
Clashes broke out between the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the BNP, and the Anti-discrimination Student Movement supporters on the KUET campus on Feb 18 over a demand to ban student politics. More than 50 people were injured.
The following day, the students locked all the academic buildings, including the administrative one.
At a syndicate meeting in the afternoon on that day, the authorities decided to halt all political activities at KUET.
A committee has also been formed to investigate the incident.
On Feb 19, the university administration filed a lawsuit against 400 to 500 unidentified individuals at the Khanjahan Ali Police Station.
The army personnel detained five suspects and handed them over to police after the clash. They were provided treatment at the prison cells.
Four of them were shown arrested on Friday and sent to jail through the court, Khanjahan Ali police chief Kabir Hossain said.
On Thursday, the students held a protest on the campus and showed red cards to all political student organisations. They also demanded the vice-chancellor’s resignation.
On Sunday, the students went to Dhaka from Khulna and submitted a memorandum to the chief advisor. It placed a six-point charter of demand, including justice for those involved in the attack and the vice-chancellor’s resignation.