Bangladesh Agricultural University Closed Indefinitely After Attack on Protesting Students and Confinement of Teachers

Following an attack on protesting students and the confinement of over 200 teachers, including the vice-chancellor, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) in Mymensingh has been closed indefinitely. Students have been instructed to vacate the residential halls by 9:00 AM on Monday, September 1, 2025.

Mymensingh’s District Administrator Mufidul Alam and BAU Teachers’ Association General Secretary Professor Md. Asaduzzaman Sarker confirmed the closure to *Prothom Alo*. According to District Administrator Alam, quoting Vice-Chancellor Professor AK Fazlul Haque Bhuiya, an emergency syndicate meeting was held online at 9:30 PM on Sunday following an Academic Council meeting at 11:00 AM. The syndicate decided to close the university indefinitely and ordered all students to leave the halls by Monday morning.

The closure follows an incident where a group of individuals attacked students from the Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Faculty of Veterinary Science, who were protesting for a combined BSc degree in Veterinary and Animal Husbandry. The students had confined over 200 teachers, including the vice-chancellor, in the Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Auditorium since 1:00 PM on Sunday, locking the doors to press their demand. The attack occurred around 7:45 PM when a group armed with sticks stormed the auditorium, assaulted the students, and broke the lock to free the confined teachers. Eyewitnesses reported that Mymensingh’s District Administrator Mufidul Alam and Additional District Administrator (Education) Syed Shahnewaz Morshed Apu were negotiating with the students when the attack took place. An anonymous student protester told *Prothom Alo*, “Suddenly, we saw a large group approaching from the road in front of the vice-chancellor’s residence, and there were shouts from the right side of the auditorium. They attacked the protesting students and started beating them. We took shelter in the library.” The identity of the attackers could not be immediately confirmed. Professor Md. Asaduzzaman Sarker claimed that students from other faculties broke the lock to free the teachers. He stated, “Even after agreeing to the students’ demands, they kept us confined. The Teachers’ Association held an emergency meeting and decided not to participate in any academic activities until those responsible for confining the teachers are brought to justice.” BAU Proctor Professor Md. Abdul Alim, one of the last to leave the auditorium, said, “I saw a few people with sticks, but I couldn’t tell if they were outsiders or university staff, as it was already dark.” The protest stemmed from a Sunday Academic Council meeting where it was decided to introduce the combined degree while retaining separate Animal Husbandry and Veterinary programs. The protesting students, rejecting the decision to maintain three degree programs, locked the auditorium after the meeting, confining the teachers to demand a single combined degree. Over 200 teachers from various faculties attended the meeting.