Science fiction writer Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and his wife Yasmeen Haque on Wednesday withdrew their resignations after the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology administration decided to restore the combined admission tests with Jessore Science and Technology University. An emergency meeting of the university academic committee on Wednesday made the decision revoking the decision it had made on Tuesday cancelling the combined admission tests for the two universities.
The academic council, however, adjourned the combined admission tests for the two universities, which was scheduled for November 30. A fresh date for the test would be announced later.
Academic council member Kabir Ahmed informed the campus reporters about the decisions at around 2:30pm emerging from the meeting.
He also confirmed that Zafar Iqbal, computer science and engineering department chief, and Yasmeen Haque, also the life science faculty dean, agreed to withdraw their resignations following the vice-chancellor’s request.
Zafar Iqbal, also technical chief in the university admission committee, and Yasmeen Haque had tendered their resignations on Tuesday evening to protest at the cancellation of the combined intake tests.
The university administration had cancelled the combined admission tests in an emergency meeting of the academic council on Tuesday afternoon with vice-chancellor Aminul Haque Bhuiyan in the chair.
As the news spread, several hundred students gathered on the campus on Tuesday evening and started demonstrations demanding withdrawal of resignations of Zafar Iqbal and Yasmeen and the cancellation of the combined admission tests.
At one point, the vice-chancellor came out of his campus residence at the night and assured the students of meeting their demands reconvening an emergency meeting for the academic council.
The authorities of the two universities this year signed an agreement to hold the admission tests jointly for both the universities on November 30 with a same question paper.
-With New Age input
