Students of Sylhet Engineering College on Tuesday announced an indefinite boycott of classes and examinations and a halt to administrative activities as part of their ongoing movement to bring the college out of the control of the Directorate of Technical Education.
They said the movement will continue until their demand is met and an effective government gazette notification is issued.
The announcement came at a press conference on the college campus around 2:30pm on Tuesday, the third day of their movement. Fourth-year students Fahad Faisal and Tanvir Mahmud read out a written statement.
The students said the college's operation under the Directorate of Technical Education is hampering the distinctiveness of its BSc Engineering degree, academic environment and professional development.
They also claimed that the existing dual administration and long-standing discrimination in higher education are disrupting modern and quality education at engineering colleges.
Their main demand is to free Sylhet Engineering College from the Directorate of Technical Education's control.
According to the students, following prolonged protests, a hunger strike unto death and class and examination boycotts, a five-member high-powered committee was formed on August 14, 2025, on the instruction of the then education adviser of the interim government.
The committee prepared a recommendation-based report after discussions with students and teachers, visits to the campus and consultations with different stakeholders, they said.
The students claimed that at a meeting on January 21, 2026, to determine the next course of action on the recommendations, a decision was taken to establish Sylhet Engineering College under Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) as the “Institute of Engineering and Technology, SUST.”
However, no effective gazette notification has yet been issued to implement the decision, they alleged.
The students also recently protested an initiative to assign a person to the post of associate professor in one of the college's departments.
They alleged that the teacher's academic and research background is not compatible with the position. The allegation could not be independently verified.
In protest, the students began a “shutdown” programme on the campus on Sunday. During the programme, teachers staying in the administrative building were kept confined there.
“Considering humanitarian aspects, the teachers were released from the administrative building. However, they are staying on the campus,” student Tanvir Mahmud said.
He said the college was supposed to be transformed into a university three years after its establishment, but the plan was never implemented.
“Although we compete with students of other engineering universities, we do not have facilities and opportunities accordingly,” Tanvir said.
He further alleged, “A person with a diploma from a night-time institution has been brought here and made head of a department. We are being treated unfairly.”