United News of Bangladesh

All classes and examination of Khulna University (KU) will resume on Sunday as the students have withdrawn their protest programmes following the positive progress over their three-point demand. The announcement came in a statement issued by the protesting students on Friday night, bringing an end to more than a week of demonstrations, class and examination boycotts, and disruption of administrative activities on the campus. According to the statement, the students placed their three-point demand before the university administration during a meeting on July 23 and subsequently boycotted all academic and administrative activities until visible progress was made in implementing the demands. After reviewing the administration's successive initiatives and decisions taken by the university syndicate, the students decided to withdraw the movement and called for the resumption of all academic activities from Sunday. They said they would continue monitoring the situation until the demands are fully implemented. They also warned of tougher programmes if the administration shows any delay or lack of cooperation in implementing the remaining decisions. First-year student Md Sadman Rahman said their term examinations were suspended midway due to the movement and that they wanted classes and examinations to resume as soon as possible. "We also want full implementation of our core demands. Since the administration has already taken several important steps, we are returning to classes. We hope the remaining decisions will also be implemented soon," he said. Professor Md Salauddin, Director of Student Affairs, said the university administration has attached importance to the students' reasonable demands from the beginning. "In line with the decisions of the syndicate, necessary administrative and legal measures have been taken, while the issues under investigation are progressing through due process. We are relieved that the students have decided to return to classes and examinations," he said. The university administration remains committed to ensuring a safe, accountable and education-friendly campus environment and would continue taking the necessary measures to achieve that goal, he added.

Students of Khulna University (KU) on Thursday locked the administrative building and shut all academic activities, demanding justice over allegation of video recording through a hidden camera inside a female dormitory washroom. The protest followed an incident on Wednesday night when students of Bijoy '24 Hall found a mobile phone set hidden inside a washroom in a female dormitory. They later detained Imam Hasan, 24,  son of the hall canteen owner who had been working at the canteen for around two years, accusing him of secretly recording videos. Students said they became suspicious after spotting the mobile phone in the washroom around 10:30 pm on Wednesday. They alleged that several secretly recorded videos were found on his phone. Students further claimed that Imam had been secretly recording videos through the washroom ventilator for a long time and sharing them in various Telegram groups. They also alleged that his wife was aware of the activities. The incident triggered anger and concern among the hall's residential students over their safety. Students announced a protest rally at Hadi Chattar 12 pm, demanding a fair investigation and exemplary punishment  of those responsible. The protesters alleged that despite several hours passing after the incident, the university administration has not taken any effective action. They also claimed that previous allegations of sexual harassment involving university teachers has not been properly addressed. The students declared that all academic and administrative activities would remain suspended until a fair investigation is completed and those responsible are brought to justice. Contacted for comment, Bijoy 24 Hall Provost Prof Dr Selina Ahmed said the matter is under investigation. "The investigation is ongoing. It would not be appropriate to comment before it is completed. Necessary information and actions will be shared after the investigation report is received," she said.

Khulna University, the highest seat of learning in the southern region, on Thursday celebrated its 31st University Day with a variety of programmes and a colourful rally. Vice-Chancellor (VC) Professor Mahmud Hossain inaugurated the University Day, the day of its founding, by releasing balloons and festoons, followed by a rally that paraded through the campus. In his inaugural speech the VC said, "Khulna University is moving forward with reputation. We will continue to work to uphold this tradition." The university's director of student affairs, teachers, staff, and students were present. KU, the highest educational institution in the southern region, started its journey on November 25, 1991, with only four disciplines and 60 students. Now more than 6,000 students are studying in 29 disciplines. The university was set up at a radio station on the banks of River Mayuri, the Pakistani army used as a centre for torturing Bengalis during the 1971 War of Liberation. KU has renamed the place as Shaheed Nazrul Islam Bhavan. The university takes pride in its achievements in past three decades. Twenty-nine scientists and researchers from KU have been included in the list of world scientists based on the citations of more than 7 lakh scientists from 13,531 universities of 206 countries. Professor Mahmood was ranked fourth in agriculture and forestry in the country, 151st in Asia and 825th in the world. In the 2020 Institutional Rankings of SCImago-Scopus based on science and research, Bangladesh has been in second place in the overall category for two consecutive years. In the innovative category, it is 26 steps ahead of last year, ranking 421st globally and first among the country's universities. It is to be noted that in the research conducted by this international organization conducted in 2019, for the first time among the universities of the country, it got first place in innovation, second place in research and 6th place in social research. The confidence of foreign students is increasing towards Khulna University. In the 2019-20 academic year, 19 foreign students got admitted, which is the highest at the undergraduate level in the university so far. Students from India, Canada and Nepal study in biology schools and science, engineering and technology schools here. KU remains colourful and festive in one way or another throughout the year. More than 22 organizations are active here for social and cultural activities, practising skills like debate, song, dance, recitation, research and photography, educating street children, helping the needy or donating blood.

Khulna University (KU) on Thursday removed the suspension of two students.

University Teachers’ Network, a platform of public and private university teachers, held a protest rally on Thursday, demanding the immediate removal of termination of three Khulna University (KU) teachers.

A retired professor of Khulna University (KU) was killed falling off a running train on Saturday morning.

Police arrested two students of Khulna University for their alleged ties to banned militant group ‘Neo JMB’ from Gollamari Khurshednagar in the city here early Saturday.