Students Confine Vice-Chancellor and Teachers at Bangladesh Agricultural University

Students of the Faculty of Animal Husbandry and the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) locked in the Vice-Chancellor and over 200 teachers on Sunday, protesting the decision regarding the introduction of a “combined degree.”

The incident occurred around 1 pm at the Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Auditorium, where students placed padlocks on the doors after the Academic Council’s meeting. As of 6 pm, faculty members and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof AK Fazlul Haque Bhuiyan, were still confined inside.

According to the protesting students, the Academic Council had earlier decided to keep three separate degree tracks—Veterinary Science, Animal Husbandry, and a combined course (BSc in Veterinary and Animal Husbandry). Students, however, have been demanding only a single, unified “combined degree,” rejecting the continuation of the other two.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that more than 200 teachers from various faculties attended the council meeting. The announcement of three degree options triggered the blockade by demonstrating students, who insist that “one profession should have only one degree.”

Prof Md Asaduzzaman Sarkar, General Secretary of the Teachers’ Association, said the council had accepted the demand for a combined degree in principle. A four-member committee has been formed, headed by the Dean Council convener, to design the curriculum. From the next session, 150 students will be enrolled under the combined program, while those already admitted will have the choice of pursuing Veterinary Science, Animal Husbandry, or the combined track. He also noted that under university law, the two faculties cannot be merged, but they will jointly offer the combined degree and alternately provide the deanship.

Students have been demonstrating since July 25 with class boycotts and exams suspended. Third-year student Tahmina Akter said, “Our demand is for one single degree—the combined one. The teachers’ decision does not meet our expectations. We will continue this movement until our demand is fulfilled.”

Another protester, second-year student Mira, added, “We have been on strike for 36 days. Job markets value the combined degree more, and if three options remain, it will only create more problems in the future. We are firm—one profession must have only one degree.”