An ongoing administrative impasse at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) has entered its 15th consecutive day, leaving teachers, officials, and employees in severe financial distress after the newly appointed vice-chancellor blocked the disbursement of monthly salaries. The turmoil stems from persistent protests demanding the reinstatement of the immediate past vice-chancellor, which has effectively prevented the newly appointed administrator from entering the campus since his appointment.
The crisis escalated on Monday, September 29, when newly appointed Vice-Chancellor Professor Sheikh Shariful Alam issued an email directive to Joyanta Bhoumik, manager of the CUET branch of Sonali Bank, ordering the immediate suspension of salaries and allowances for all university personnel. The abrupt halt in remuneration has triggered immense hardship across the campus community, particularly disproportionately impacting Hindu faculty members, officers, and staff who are preparing to celebrate the upcoming Sharadiya Durgotsav festival.
The leadership transition controversy began on September 21, when Professor Dr. Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem was removed from office, and Professor Sheikh Shariful Alam of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) was appointed as the new CUET vice-chancellor. In immediate defiance, students launched a complete shutdown on September 22 demanding Professor Abu Sadat's reinstatement, a movement subsequently joined by teachers, officers, and staff through ongoing work stoppages. Facing relentless protests, Professor Alam formally assumed office on September 24 without physically entering the campus by submitting his joining letter to the President and the Secretary of the Ministry of Education.
Following the vice-chancellor's September 29 email directive, Sonali Bank branch manager Joyanta Bhoumik responded via email on Sunday, October 5, informing the administration that the bank had received valid salary bills bearing the signatures of the university's comptroller and deputy comptroller. In swift counter-response, Vice-Chancellor Alam asserted via email that submitting salary bills without prior gubernatorial or vice-chancellor approval constituted an unauthorized and illegal financial transaction under Section 13(7) of the CUET Act 2003, warning that the bank and relevant internal officers would bear sole legal and financial liability for any regulatory breaches.
Bank manager Joyanta Bhoumik confirmed the authenticity of the directives, stating that salary disbursements remain suspended following instructions copied to Bangladesh Bank and senior Sonali Bank general managers, pending guidance from higher banking authorities. Defending his stance, Vice-Chancellor Alam maintained that previous salary withdrawal practices were legally flawed and claimed that internal officials defied a summons to attend a consultative meeting prior to his bank intervention.
Conversely, campus representatives have vehemently criticized the measure as an authoritarian overreach. CUET Officers Association President Engineer Syed Mohammad Ikram noted that conventional institutional protocols never required the vice-chancellor's signature for routine salary and bonus distributions. Echoing this frustration, CUET Teachers Association Joint Secretary Samiun Basir asserted that September salary bills were routed through standard comptroller procedures, accusing the new administration of weaponizing administrative authority to penalize staff participating in legitimate peaceful demonstrations.
