United News of Bangladesh

The capital’s Satrastha intersection turned chaotic again on Wednesday as polytechnic students staged protests over a perceived deepening crisis in technical education and diminishing roles for engineers in the job market. Students from government and private polytechnic institutes, technical schools and colleges (TSC) and other institutions under the Bangladesh Technical Education Board blocked the busy intersection to press their six-point demand. The blockade caused severe traffic congestion in Satrastha and surrounding areas, leaving office-goers and commuters stranded. Many were seen walking to their destinations as vehicles inched forward. The students alleged that an influential group is deliberately undermining technical education to weaken the polytechnic system and restrict access to the engineering profession. They also accused authorities of discriminating against polytechnic graduates in employment and higher education opportunities. Polytechnic students call nationwide rail blockade Thursday to press 6-point demands “A powerful syndicate has captured the technical education system. They are closing our paths. We will not tolerate this injustice anymore,” said one protester, adding that demonstrations would continue until their demands are met. Tejgaon Industrial Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Aslam Hossain said the students occupied Satrastha around 10:30am, reiterating the same demands raised in their previous protests. “Police are closely monitoring the situation to maintain law and order,” he added. The six demands are giving due recognition to technical education, ensuring equal opportunities for polytechnic graduates in the engineering profession, stopping recruitment barriers through syndicates, eliminating discrimination in higher education, extending government facilities to private polytechnic students, and integrating technical education as a key pillar of the national development policy. At the time of filing this report, students were still demonstrating peacefully at the intersection, although vehicular movement remained suspended, bringing the area to a standstill.

University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Prof SM A Faiez on Tuesday assured that Jagannath University (JnU) students will receive their supplementary grants by January. He gave the assurance while meeting with a delegation of JnU unit Islami Chhatra Shibir, led by its President Riazul Islam and General Secretary Abdul Alim Arif, at the UGC office in the afternoon. The UGC chairman said the scholarship will be disbursed in two phases, one part from the Finance Ministry and the other from UGC. Later in the evening, JnU Vice-Chancellor Prof Rezual Karim visited the students who are on hunger strike and told them that the scholarship money will reach their hands by January. “Collection of necessary documents will be completed by October. Since the Finance Committee (FC) has already cleared the process, there is no further obstacle now,” he said. After the meeting, JnU Shibir President Riazul Islam said the UGC chairman assured them that the students will get the scholarships by October, though in two phases. “We trust the UGC, but we want to see the money in students’ hands by October. We won’t accept any delay or excuse,” he added. The meeting was also attended by UGC member Prof Tajnimuddin Khan and JnU Shibir leaders including Secretary Abdul Alim Arif, Organising Secretary Mohammad Jahed, Office Secretary Ibrahim Khalil, Finance Secretary Mostafizur Rahman and Student Welfare Secretary Mohammad Faruk.

Nafis Khandakar, a student of the 2024–2025 session of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Dhaka University, passed away today at 3:45 p.m. while under treatment in the ICU of a hospital in the capital. He was the son of Golam Mawla and Yasmin Begum of Rupnagar, Galachipa upazila, Patuakhali district. Today after Maghrib, his funeral prayer (namaz-e-janaza) was held in the premises of the university’s Curzon Hall. Nafis’s father, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, the Proctor, Vice-President (VP) of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) Sadiq Kayem, along with many DUCSU leaders were present at the funeral prayer. Besides, Chhatra Dal’s Abidul Islam Khan, Tanvir Bari Hamim, and Democratic Students’ Council’s Abu Baker Mojumdar along with many others were present at the funeral prayer. Vice-Chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmad Khan expressed deep grief at the death of the meritorious student Nafis Khandakar. He said, with his death the country has lost a young man of immense potential. Such a death is extremely sorrowful and painful for a family as well as for the nation. He prayed for the forgiveness of the departed soul and conveyed deep condolences to the bereaved family members.

Newly elected General Secretary (GS) of Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU), Mazharul Islam, backed by the Shibir-supported ‘Coordinated Student Alliance,’ has pledged to work toward creating a student-friendly campus environment. “If we can fulfill our responsibilities properly, then we will achieve true success,” he told reporters after the JUCSU election results were announced on Saturday evening. Mazharul said he is committed to working for the welfare of students and the overall development of the campus, regardless of political affiliation. “We want to work together for the development of students and the campus environment, irrespective of political identity,” he said, seeking cooperation from all students. He also urged those who were not elected to join hands with the newly elected representatives in the ongoing struggle for student rights. The Shibir-backed panel bagged 20 of the 25 seats in the central council, including the top three positions amid cheers and controversy on the campus. Meanwhile, the independent contender Abdur Rashid Zitu clinched the VP post. From DUCSU to JUCSU: Shibir’s winning streak rolls on Other central council members elected include: AGS (Male) Ferdous Al Hasan and AGS (Female) Ayesha Siddiqua Meghla (Chhatra Shibir), Education & Research Secretary Abu Ubaida Usama (Chhatra Shibir), Environment & Nature Conservation Secretary Shafayet Mir (Chhatra Shibir), Literature & Publication Secretary Jahidul Islam Bappi (Chhatra Shibir), Cultural Secretary Muhibullah Sheikh Jisan (Independent), Co-Cultural Secretary Raihan Uddin (Chhatra Shibir), Drama Secretary Ruhul Islam (Chhatra Shibir), Sports Secretary Mahmudul Hasan Kiran (Independent), Co-Sports Secretary (Male) Mahdi Hasan and Co-Sports Secretary (Female) Farhana Akter Lubna (Chhatra Shibir). Besides, IT & Library Secretary Rashedul Imon Likhan, Social Welfare & Human Development Secretary Ahsan Labib (Bagshash), Co-Social Welfare & Human Development Secretary (Male) Touhid Islam, Co-Social Welfare & Human Development Secretary (Female) Nigar Sultana, Health & Food Security Secretary Husne Mubarak, and Transport & Communication Secretary Tanvir Rahman (all Chhatra Shibir) were elected. Three male and three female executive members were also chosen and they are Tarikul Islam, Abu Talha, Mohammad Ali Chishti, Fabliha Jahan, Nabila Binte Harun and Nusrat Jahan Ema. JUCSU Polls: Independent Abdur Rashid grabs VP, Shibir’s Mazhar bags GS The JUCSU election was held for the tenth time, breaking a 33-year dormancy since the last election in 1992, which had become defunct following a tumultuous incident at the Senate building.

Islami Chhatra Shibir has tightened its grip on Bangladesh’s student politics, storming to a resounding victory in the Jahangirnagar University Central Student Union (JUCSU) elections. Riding high on its earlier victory of Dhaka University’s DUCSU polls, the Shibir-backed ‘Coordinated Student Alliance’ clinched 20 out of 25 central council seats, leaving rival groups trailing far behind. Although independent candidate Abdur Rashid Zitu won the Vice President (VP) post Shibir-backed panel candidates secured the remaining key positions. Zitu grabbed the VP post with 3324 votes. He is the convener of JU’s Gonoovvutthan Rokkha Andolon and a 47th batch student of the Institute of Comparative Literature and Culture. The results were announced on Saturday at 7 pm by the JU Election Commission. The Shibir-backed candidates elected include General Secretary Mazharul Islam (3930 votes) AGS (Male) Ferdous Al Hasan (2358) AGS (Female) Ayesha Siddiqua Meghla (3402) Education & Research Secretary Abu Ubaida Usama (2428) and Environment & Nature Conservation Secretary Md. Shafayet Mir (2811). Other elected members from the Shibir-backed panel include: Literature & Publication Secretary Jahidul Islam Bappi (1907), Co-Cultural Secretary Md. Raihan Uddin (1986), Drama Secretary Md. Ruhul Islam (1929), Co-Sports Secretary (Female) Farhana Akter Lubna (1976), Co-Sports Secretary (Male) Md. Mahdi Hasan (2105), IT & Library Secretary Md. Rashedul Imon Likhan (2436), Co-Social Welfare & Human Development Secretary (Female) Nigar Sultana, Co-Social Welfare & Human Development Secretary (Male) Touhid Islam (2442) Health & Food Security Secretary Husne Mubarak (2653) and Transport & Communication Secretary Tanvir Rahman (2559). JUCSU Polls: Independent Abdur Rashid grabs VP, Shibir’s Mazhar bags GS Executive members include Tarikul Islam (1766) and Abu Talha (1854) (male) and Nabila Binte Harun (2753) Fabliha Jahan (2475) and Nusrat Jahan Ima (3014) (female). Among the remaining five seats three went to independents and two to the Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangshad (Bagchas) panel. Independent winners were Cultural Secretary Muhibullah Sheikh Jisan (2018) and Sports Secretary Mahmudul Hasan Kiran (5778). Bagchas won Social Welfare & Human Development Secretary (Ahsan Labib, 1590) and male executive member (Mohammad Ali Chishti, 2414) post. The elections held for the first time in 33 years saw nearly 68% turnout with about 8000 of 12000 eligible voters casting ballots. Counting took almost 40 hours as votes were tallied manually rather than by machine.

After two days of tense delays and high-stakes political drama, the Jahangirnagar University Central Student Union (JUCSU) election results were declared on Saturday evening, with independent contender Abdur Rashid Zitu clinching the VP post while Shibir’s Mazharul Islam taking GS. The Shibir-backed ‘Coordinated Student Alliance’ further tightened its grip, bagging 20 of the 25 seats in the central council, including the top three positions amid cheers and controversy on the campus. The results were announced at around 7 pm on Saturday by Chief Returning Officer Professor Dr Moniruzzaman at the JUCSU Election Commission office. JUCSU polls: Vote counting ends after 44 hours Other central council members elected include: AGS (Male) Ferdous Al Hasan and AGS (Female) Ayesha Siddiqua Meghla (Chhatra Shibir), Education & Research Secretary Abu Ubaida Usama (Chhatra Shibir), Environment & Nature Conservation Secretary Shafayet Mir (Chhatra Shibir), Literature & Publication Secretary Jahidul Islam Bappi (Chhatra Shibir), Cultural Secretary Muhibullah Sheikh Jisan (Independent), Co-Cultural Secretary Raihan Uddin (Chhatra Shibir), Drama Secretary Ruhul Islam (Chhatra Shibir), Sports Secretary Mahmudul Hasan Kiran (Independent), Co-Sports Secretary (Male) Mahdi Hasan and Co-Sports Secretary (Female) Farhana Akter Lubna (Chhatra Shibir). JU teacher Jannatul Ferdous Soumita laid to rest in Pabna Besides, IT & Library Secretary Rashedul Imon Likhan, Social Welfare & Human Development Secretary Ahsan Labib (Bagshash), Co-Social Welfare & Human Development Secretary (Male) Touhid Islam, Co-Social Welfare & Human Development Secretary (Female) Nigar Sultana, Health & Food Security Secretary Husne Mubarak, and Transport & Communication Secretary Tanvir Rahman (all Chhatra Shibir) were elected. Three male and three female executive members were also chosen and they are Tarikul Islam, Abu Talha, Mohammad Ali Chishti, Fabliha Jahan, Nabila Binte Harun and Nusrat Jahan Ema. Shibir-backed panel sweeps DUCSU polls for first time in history The JUCSU election was held for the tenth time, breaking a 33-year dormancy since the last election in 1992, which had become defunct following a tumultuous incident at the Senate building.

The authorities of Islamic University in Kushtia have suspended five students for their involvement in a bus vandalism incident at the university's main gate in January. Two students were suspended for one year, while the remaining three received six-month suspensions. The decision was announced on Saturday through official orders signed by IU Acting Registrar Professor Dr. Manjurul Haque. It was approved at the university’s 270th Syndicate meeting, held on campus on August 28. The one-year suspensions were handed to Shahriar Nazim of the Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering department (2019–20 academic session) and Mostafizur Rahman Sayem of the Marketing department (2021–22 academic session). The six-month suspensions were issued to Abdul Mannan Luman, Syed Sajid Hossain, and Takbir Hasan Hridoy — all from the Marketing department under the 2021–22 academic session. The incident occurred on January 22, when the accused students stopped a bus belonging to SB Paribahan at the university's main entrance over complaints of misconduct by the bus supervisor. During the confrontation, several students vandalised the bus. When coordinators of the university’s anti-discrimination student movement tried to intervene, a scuffle broke out. A four-member investigation committee was formed following the incident.

Vote counting in Jahangirnagar University (JU) Central Student Union (JUCSU) election concluded 42 hours after the end of balloting. Voting was scheduled to end at 5 pm on Thursday (Sept 11) at the Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall but due to long queues polling continued until 9 pm. The counting of votes finally ended at 2:40 pm. Informal results suggested that the panel backed by Islami Chhatra Shibir is leading in 21 out of 25 positions. Tight races are being reported for four key posts—Vice President (VP), Cultural Affairs Secretary, Sports Secretary and Social Welfare Secretary. Independent candidates are leading in three positions while Bagchas-backed candidate Ahsan Labib is ahead for Social Welfare Secretary. Independent candidate Abdur Rashid Jitu is leading the VP race by a margin of around 800 votes over Shibir-backed Arif Ullah while in the Cultural Secretary race, Jisan Ahmed Jisu is ahead of Shibir panel’s Ali Zaki Shahriar. In the race for Sports Secretary, independent candidate Mahmudul Hasan Kiran is leading against Shibir panel’s Shafiuzzaman Shaheen. Though the BNP-backed panel boycotted the election earlier, their nominated Assistant General Secretary (Women) candidate Anjuman Ara Ikra urged students to accept the results in the greater interest of the student body. JUCSU polls: Official results to be announced by 7pm today She came up with the urge in her facebook post on Friday night. In her post, she wrote, “Regardless of the outcome, we were committed to ensuring fair voting for the students. Despite open irregularities and rigging by the administration, we must accept this verdict for the sake of the students.” She further urged BNP student wing leaders to focus on their mistakes and moving forward. Vote counting of the election began on the night of September 11 after it ended amid allegations of ballot stuffing and administrative bias. A total of 11,743 students were eligible to cast their votes in the election, with turnout reaching around 67-68 percent. A total of eight full and partial panels contested this year’s JUCSU election, though several later pulled out of the race. The panels that boycotted the polls include the BNP-backed Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Sampritir Oikya, Swatantra Angikar Parishad, Songshoptak Parishad, and candidates from the Socialist Student Front. Some independent candidates also withdrew from the election. Among those who stayed in the race were the Jamaat-backed Islami Chhatra Shibir-supported “Combined Students’ Alliance,” the “Student Unity Forum” backed by Ganatantrik Chhatra Sansad, and the independent “Students’ Sammilon” led by former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Abdur Rashid Jitu.

Jahangirnagar University’s Assistant Professor of Fine Arts, Jannatul Ferdous Soumita, was laid to rest in her hometown of Arifpur, Pabna, on Friday night. Soumita’s second funeral prayer was held at the Kacharipara Jame Masjid in her neighborhood at 8:30 PM. Later, her body was then taken to Arifpur graveyard, where she was buried around 9 PM. Earlier, at 7:40 PM, the  ambulance arrived at her home, bringing an overwhelming sense of grief. Family members, including her parents and relatives, were seen in deep sorrow as they wept by her side. Family sources revealed that Soumita had gotten married in January this year in a family ceremony. The family had hoped to host a grand wedding for their only daughter. Namaz-e-Janaza of JU teacher Jannatul Ferdous held Jannatul Ferdous Soumita was the only daughter of well-known Pabna journalist, former president of the Pabna Press Club, and retired Assistant Professor Rumi Khondkar and former Assistant Professor of Pabna College, Lutfunahar Polly. Born in 1995, Soumita was a bright student from an early age. She completed her SSC from Pabna Government Girls' School in 2009, and then HSC with a golden GPA-5 from Pabna Women’s College in 2011. She went on to study at Jahangirnagar University, where she completed her Honours and Masters before starting as a lecturer at the Fine Arts Faculty in 2021. Rumi Khondkar, Soumita's father, shared that after completing her election duties, she returned to the teacher’s quarters around midnight. The next morning, she was called to the vote counting room, but before she could enter, she collapsed at the door. Sadly, she passed away shortly after.  

Professor Mafruhi Sattar, an election commissioner for the Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) election, resigned from his position on Friday evening. He made the announcement at a press conference in front of the New Arts Faculty. Professor Sattar said he decided to resign after facing disrespect. He implied that his suggestions were ignored and the vote counting was restarted without addressing his concerns. "I never want to put anyone in trouble, but my opinions were not considered," he said. Professor Sattar is also the acting Dean of the Faculty of Biological Sciences and a professor in the Pharmacy Department at JU. In addition to his academic roles, Professor Sattar serves as the president of the Nationalist Teachers' Forum at the university. JUCSU: Vote counting completed in 20 halls The vote counting for the Jahangirnagar University Central Student Council (JUCSU) election, held on September 11 from 9 AM to 5 PM, has still not been completed, even after more than 28 hours of manual counting.