Students of the Faculty of Animal Husbandry at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) have locked the faculty gate in protest, demanding a combined degree merging the faculties of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry.

The students gathered for the protest on Wednesday (30 July). They have been boycotting classes and protesting for three days in a row.

The protesters put up posters reading "We want combined" in front of the gate and chanted slogans such as "Lock the dean's office" and "Lock the faculty gate".

A student of the Faculty of Animal Husbandry, who did not want to be named, said: "Day after day we are falling behind in jobs. We will not back down until the demand for a combined degree is met. The administration must take real steps now, or tougher action will follow."

At midday the Bangladesh Veterinary Faculty Students' Association joined the movement in solidarity, and the Animal Husbandry students welcomed them with applause.

Md Morsalin, vice-president of the veterinary faculty students' association, said that just as an entrepreneur or farmer needs treatment and disease prevention for their livestock and poultry, they also need proper management, and only graduates with a combined or integrated degree can meet both needs. Introducing an integrated degree at BAU is now a demand of the times for developing the country's livestock sector and modernising animal services, he said.

The dean of BAU's Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Professor Dr Md Ruhul Amin, said: "We teachers do not think a movement to combine such an old faculty is reasonable. The vice-chancellor has gone abroad; the rest will be clear when he returns."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.