JU professor resigns in protest against attacks on students

Jahangirnagar University's associate professor of Management Studies, Zahidul Karim, has voluntarily resigned in protest against the recent attacks on students. 

Zahidul Karim submitted his resignation letter to the university vice chancellor today (25 July) expressing his decision to step down from his position. 

The vice chancellor, Professor Md Nurul Alam, confirmed the news.

In his resignation letter submitted through the university registrar, Zahidul Karim stated, "For the past 14 years, I have been teaching at the Management Studies department of Jahangirnagar University. The recent violence and anarchy in the country, along with the government's indifference and the partisan attitude of the teachers, have deeply troubled me. I have always stood for truth and justice and supported the students in their rightful demands. The government's aggressive stance against the just demands of the quota reform movement has cost the lives of many students. The government could have accepted the students' demands sooner, preventing such loss of lives."

He mentioned that the brutality against school, college, and university students, as well as the injury of several protesting teachers, surpasses even the atrocities of 1971. 

"Despite witnessing these atrocities, I have seen the university administration and the teachers remain indifferent. The role of the teachers is now questioned by the nation. I express my deep respect, love, and

prayers for all the students who were martyred and for the injured teachers and students. To awaken the moral values and ethics of the teaching community across Bangladesh, I am voluntarily resigning from my position," he added.

Regarding the resignation, the vice chancellor mentioned that there had been a previous allegation against Zahidul Karim, and an investigation was ongoing. 

"He might be trying to resign before the investigation is concluded. I have received the resignation letter. We will follow the due process and inform the next steps accordingly," he said.

However, the vice chancellor did not specify the exact nature of the allegation or the status of the investigation report.

Zahidul Karim is currently on study leave abroad. He posted his resignation letter on his Facebook handle but did not respond to multiple attempts to contact him.