CU hall students lock provost inside office, demand resignation over irregularities

Students of Chittagong University's Alaol Hall have locked the hall provost inside his office and demanded his resignation, alleging irregularities and mismanagement in seat allocation.

The incident occurred around 1pm today (15 September), led by representatives of the Alaol Hall Students' Union and general students.

The students alleged a lack of coordination between the hall administration and the students' union, disruption of the union's regular activities, rude behaviour towards students, delays in development work and a lack of transparency in seat allocation for a long time.

They also alleged that students had been threatened over their identity as journalists and that urgent repair work had remained stalled.

According to hall union leaders, they had repeatedly submitted verbal and written requests to resolve these issues, but the hall administration had taken no effective action.

The protesting students further alleged that the provost neglected his duties and treated students with contempt. They also accused him of keeping their cards, acting according to his own wishes, and failing to coordinate with the hall union.

They claimed that the hall's overall environment had become unsuitable for living because of delays in administrative work.

Earlier this morning, outraged students gathered in front of the hall office and staged a protest.

Noornobi Hasan, general secretary of Alaol Hall Students' Union said, "We are representatives of the students. We have to work for their welfare. Students have various complaints against the hall provost. They want his resignation. Therefore, at their demand, we locked the hall provost's room today."

Shahin, a student of political science, said, "The provost had been behaving in an authoritarian manner with students. That is why students are protesting against him. We want his resignation."