Dhaka: Administrative activities at Khulna University (KU) resumed on Sunday morning after being suspended for three days due to student protests over an incident involving a canteen worker accused of secretly recording female students in a washroom at Bijoy ’24 Hall.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the university’s operations were halted on July 23 when students locked the main gate and all academic and administrative buildings. The protest aimed to demand justice for the alleged privacy invasion and to push for enhanced campus safety measures. The protests were initiated after female students allegedly caught a canteen worker recording videos inside a washroom on the night of July 22.
The incident generated widespread outrage among students, who voiced serious concerns regarding campus security and called for immediate action. In response, the university administration handed the accused canteen worker over to law enforcement on July 23, and a case was filed. Additionally, the university established a three-member committee to investigate potential negligence by dormitory authorities, while the hall administration formed a separate five-member committee to scrutinize the incident.
To address the students’ three-point demand, the university administration took several actions. Heads of all disciplines held meetings with their students on Saturday, where teachers expressed their support for the students’ call for justice against those responsible for the alleged offense. An emergency meeting, led by KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Md Rezaul Karim, was conducted later that evening to review the outcomes of these discussions and to reaffirm the administration’s support for the students’ demands.
The meeting included the pro-vice-chancellor, treasurer, deans, heads of disciplines, the director of student affairs, provosts, and other university officials, all of whom expressed solidarity with the students. Following the meeting, university representatives communicated the decisions and commitments to address the students’ demands to the 2022 batch representatives.
The university administration also urged students to return to their classes, reassuring them of its dedication to implementing the previously announced measures in a timely manner to restore the normal academic environment. Consequently, students unlocked the university’s main gate and buildings, allowing official activities to resume and facilitating a fair investigation into the incident.