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University Watch
Source: BDPolicyLab Watch record and cited public sourcesAs of 2026-07-05
The university is under new leadership with VC Prof. Dr. S.M. Hemayet Jahan working to restore academic normalcy after a period of administrative paralysis and violence.
DVM students continued a boycott of classes and exams protesting the merger of DVM and Animal Husbandry degrees.
Faculty and staff launched a sit-in declaring Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Kazi Rafiqul Islam unwanted due to corruption allegations.
University authorities suspended all academic activities indefinitely following an attack on protesting teachers by outsiders.
Prof. Dr. S.M. Hemayet Jahan assumed office as the new Vice-Chancellor of PSTU.
The University Teachers' Association of Bangladesh and Zia Parishad organized a reception for the new Vice-Chancellor.
established_year: 2000 is the year PSTU formally started functioning (gazette notification 8 July 2000, converting Patuakhali Agricultural College into PSTU); the Act was enacted in parliament on 26 February 2002 under PM Khaleda Zia. Predecessor institution traced to 1972 private college, nationalized 1979 as Patuakhali Agricultural College under BAU affiliation. legal_basis uses 'PSTU Act 2001' per task brief; parliamentary passage was February 2002. Two campuses: main at Dumki, Patuakhali (97 acres); outer at Khanpura, Babuganj, Barishal (12.97 acres). student_count 3,752 from pstu.ac.bd via universityadmissionbd.com aggregator (confirmed in 3,000-3,999 range by unirank and Wikipedia ~3,000); task brief figure of ~6,500 is not corroborated by any primary or credible secondary source and is set aside. faculty_count 261 from universityadmissionbd.com; unirank band 200-299 consistent; PSTU officers page lists 209 academic staff (Wikipedia citation), setting 261 as best available. annual_budget_bdt null: no primary budget document located. vc_since 2024-09-25 = gazette notification date per Wikipedia/Kazi Rafiqul Islam article; Wikipedia also states he assumed office 26 September 2024 (one day later, likely publication lag). VC Kazi Rafiqul Islam is Professor of Pharmacology at BAU, appointed on four-year deputation. PSTU was not among the 11 universities receiving new VCs under BNP-Tarique government on May 14, 2026 (confirmed via UNB report listing all 11). Campus is at severe administrative risk: factional VC-ProVC dispute, May 11 violence, three-day work stoppage; situation ongoing as of May 18, 2026. name_bn uses standard Bangla transliteration: পটুয়াখালী বিজ্ঞান ও প্রযুক্তি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়.
Source: 19 primary source linksAs of 2026-07-05