Students of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) have confined the Vice-Chancellor and over 200 teachers inside the Zainul Abedin Auditorium, demanding the introduction of a “combined degree” for the Faculty of Animal Husbandry and the Faculty of Veterinary Science.
The confinement began around 1:00 pm Sunday, and as of 6:00 pm, the teachers remained locked inside.
According to students, the university’s Academic Council held a meeting earlier in the day to discuss the issue.
The council decided to introduce the combined degree—Bachelor of Science in Veterinary and Animal Husbandry—while also continuing the existing separate Veterinary and Animal Husbandry degrees.
However, the protesting students rejected the decision, insisting that only one combined degree should be offered for the profession.
Witnesses said that more than 200 faculty members from all departments attended the meeting. When the decision to run all three degrees was announced, students locked the auditorium, leaving Vice-Chancellor Prof. A.K. Fazlul Haque Bhuiyan and the teachers confined.
Prof. Md. Asaduzzaman Sarkar, General Secretary of the BAU Teachers’ Association, said that the Academic Council had unanimously accepted the demand for a combined degree.
A four-member committee headed by the Dean Council convener was formed to prepare the curriculum, and from the next academic session, 150 students will be admitted into the combined course.
Students already enrolled will have the option to choose between Veterinary Science, Animal Husbandry, or the combined degree.
He clarified that under university law, the two faculties cannot be merged, but both will jointly issue the combined degree, with deans continuing separately from each faculty.
Students, however, are dissatisfied. Third-year Animal Husbandry student Tahmina Akter said, “Our demand was one degree, the combined degree. The teachers’ decision does not fulfill that. We will continue our protest until our demand is met.”
Second-year student Mira added, “We have been boycotting classes and exams for 36 days. In the job market, the combined degree is prioritized. If three degrees exist, it will only worsen future problems. For one profession, there should be only one degree.”
The movement for a combined degree has been ongoing since July 25, with students staging continuous protests on campus.
