Dhaka Medical College students issue 24-hour ultimatum over accommodation, demand inspection, solution roadmap

Students of Dhaka Medical College have issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the authorities, demanding immediate steps to resolve their longstanding accommodation crisis.

They have asked that a government health adviser and other relevant officials visit the college by 12pm tomorrow (23 June) to inspect the hostel conditions and sit with students to present a clear roadmap for fulfilling their five-point demand.

The ultimatum followed a meeting between the college administration and representatives of the protesting students from 11am to 12pm today (22 June).

Speaking to The Business Standard after the meeting, Touhidul Abedin Tanvir, a student of the K-78 batch, said, "We asked for updates on our demands, but instead we were again told to vacate the hall today. We received no clear assurance on the progress of our demands. We have rejected the notice for vacating halls and informed the administration that we will remain in the hall during the movement."

He added, "If the adviser and concerned officials do not come to the college by noon tomorrow and sit with us to present a specific plan to resolve our demands, we will be forced to escalate our agitation."

Later at a press briefing at 12:45pm today, Dhaka Medical College Principal Professor Dr Md Kamrul Alam reiterated the college's stance.

"There are safety concerns in the abandoned hostel blocks. We are not willing to take that risk. If students vacate the halls and cooperate with the new allotment process, we will be able to resume academic activities," he said.

He said that a proposal for a new hostel has already been forwarded to the Ministry of Health and that two hostel projects originally allocated to other medical colleges have now been reassigned to Dhaka Medical College. However, the projects are awaiting approval at the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.

"We agree with the students' demands, but an immediate solution is not possible. These processes take time. The Academic Council has decided to suspend academic activities for now to ensure safety and bring the college back to normal operations," he said.

The students are protesting with five demands, including the immediate passing of a budget for new hostels, arranging alternative accommodation, declaring the old academic building abandoned, and passing a budget for a new academic facility.

Yesterday (21 June), Dhaka Medical College declared the indefinite suspension of academic activities in response to ongoing student protests over accommodation.

Students were instructed to vacate the halls by 12pm today, a directive they rejected, calling it an attempt to suppress their movement.

The protests began on 28 May with a five-point demand and have continued with an indefinite class boycott since 6 June.