A 20-day standoff at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) intensified on Monday after newly appointed Vice-Chancellor Professor Sheikh Shariful Alam entered his office amid protests by students, who chanted slogans rejecting his appointment.

The vice-chancellor arrived on campus in the morning accompanied by several leaders and activists of the CUET unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), including its president Wasif Rashed, joint general secretary Abu Sufian Al Sabit and organising secretary Biplob Hossain. His entry into the previously locked administrative building sparked controversy over how the lock was opened.

Alam, a professor in the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), entered his office and began official activities. However, accounts differed over how access to the building was secured.

The vice-chancellor said students had opened the lock, while JCD leaders claimed university employees had done so before they went to meet him.

As news of his arrival spread, protesting students gathered outside the vice-chancellor’s office and chanted slogans such as “Reject the new VC” and “Fake, fake, the new VC is fake.”

The demonstrators accused the new administration of ignoring their demands and gave the vice-chancellor a deadline to leave the building. They warned that if he failed to comply, they would declare the building vacant, lock it again and disconnect its electricity and water supplies.

The crisis began on September 21, when the Ministry of Education removed Professor Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem from the vice-chancellor’s post, just 56 days after he assumed office. On the same day, the ministry appointed Sheikh Shariful Alam, a professor at KUET, as his successor.

Rejecting the appointment, students locked the administrative building that night and launched a “complete shutdown” the following day, boycotting classes and examinations. Their principal demand is the reinstatement of Sayem.

A section of CUET teachers, officers and employees has also joined work stoppages and sit-in programmes demanding Sayem’s return, leaving academic and administrative activities disrupted for 20 days.