Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today walked on foot on the Dhaka University (DU) campus. Photo: PMO

DHAKA, May 12, 2026 (BSS) – Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today walked on foot from Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban to the Professor Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury Auditorium in the Social Sciences Faculty on Dhaka University (DU) campus, setting an unprecedented example in campus history.

Officials described it as a rare event in the country’s history for a head of the government to walk freely across a university campus to attend an event.

The Prime Minister started walking shortly before 12 pm for the Social Sciences Faculty after attending the inaugural session of a national workshop at the Senate Bhaban, said PM’s Press Secretary AAM Saleh Shibly.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) organised the workshop titled “Transforming Higher Education in Bangladesh: Roadmap to Sustainable Excellence” with the aim of making the country’s higher education system more modern, inclusive and sustainable.

“I was with the Honorable Prime Minister. Not only in Bangladesh’s history, but also in the history of Dhaka University, this is the first time a head of government has walked through the campus to attend a programme. It is a rare incident,” Shibly said.

He said that in the past, visits by heads of government to DU often witnessed protests, slogans, counter-slogans and clashes.

“But, there was no such scene today. Enthusiasm and excitement were visible among hundreds of students across the campus. They welcomed the Prime Minister with slogans while some were seen waving and welcoming the premier from a distance,” the press secretary added.

Despite an official motorcade being prepared outside the Senate Bhaban, Tarique Rahman chose to walk to the Social Sciences Faculty building near the Arts building (Kala Bhaban) to join a views exchange programme with students.

As students saw the Prime Minister walking through the campus, many clapped their hands while some others chanted slogans.

Convener of the organizing committee of the views exchange programme, Professor Dr Md Morshed Hasan Khan, said, “There is no previous record of any head of government walking through the university campus in such a natural manner outside a strict security cordon. It is a remarkable moment.”

Noting that the students were excited and enthusiastic to see the Prime Minister walking through the campus, he said, “There were students with different views and ideologies here. But their reactions are memorable.”

At the Professor Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury Auditorium, the Prime Minister took part in an open question-and-answer session with around 150 students, where he responded candidly to different academic and campus related questions.

The event drew such an overwhelming response that many students, unable to find space inside the auditorium, watched the Prime Minister’s views exchange programme live on their mobile phones from various locations on the campus.