Students staged a sit-in outside the main gate of Dhaka College on Thursday at noon, demanding that students from all academic sessions of the seven colleges be included in Dhaka Central University. Demonstrators called for the inclusion of running sessions, academic migration and an end to delays over the central university. Their slogans also demanded freedom from affiliation arrangements.

Abdullah Al A Fahad, a 2022-23 session student of Dhaka College, said students had called for a protest march over running sessions and academic migration. He alleged that a group emerging from the college’s administrative building forced students who were gathered on campus to leave, locked the Dhaka College gate and said no protest march would be allowed from there.

Fahad said the government had passed the university law in support of students, with the aim of resolving academic complications for running sessions and addressing their lack of institutional identity. He said students were told a decision would follow a consultation meeting, but that the Education Ministry later sent a letter calling for mass signatures. He described this as unnecessary delay and said the sit-in at the main gate followed the alleged intimidation and removal of students from campus.