The strike enforced by DU science faculty students started on Wednesday to press the demand for immediate acceptance of the four-year honours degree as full professional qualification.

Yesterday's attacks by the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activists with hockey sticks and iron rods prompted the BCL, the student chapter of the main opposition party Awami League, to call an indefinite strike on the campus from tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the government decided that the four-year honours degree would be considered equivalent to previous three-year honours and one-year master's degrees, according to an education ministry press release, faxed to The Daily Star last night.

The decision came as the DU syndicate after an emergency meeting sent recommendations to the education ministry. The government asked the establishment ministry and the Public Service Commission to take necessary steps to that end.

The DU decided to mention the four-year honours course as "four-year integrated course" in certificates.

On Wednesday night, students of Fazlul Haque and Shahidullah halls brought out a procession, demanding recognition of the four-year honours course as a professional degree.

The JCD activists hurled brickbats at the demonstrators injuring a mathematics student, as the procession reached Jagannath Hall.

They launched fresh attacks on BCL activists at Jagannath Hall, Shahidullah Hall and Fazlul Haque Hall and drove around 20 of them out of the dormitories. At least 10 BCL activists were wounded in the rampage after midnight.

To protest the incident, the BCL staged a rally on the campus yesterday morning and more than 100 JCD leaders and activists swooped on the demonstrators as they were bracing for a procession.

JCD leaders Farhad Hossain Azad and Abdul Kadir Jewel led the attackers who snatched batons from on-duty policemen to attack their rivals. By the time police tried to teargas the marauders, at least 40 BCL leaders and activists, including its President Liakat Ali Sikdar, were injured.

BCL Vice-Presidents Balaram Poddar and Aminul Islam Amin, Organising Secretary Khalilur Rahman, Publication Secretary AHM Masud Dulal, Social Welfare Secretary Momin Patowari, Sports Secretary Shajahan Shisir, DU unit President Delwar Hossain and General Secretary Hemayet Uddin Himu, central committee members Rozina Parvin and Mizanur Rahman, Bablu, Mithu, Jewel, Tuhin, Iqbal, Razib, Salma, Aparna Pal and Tarek were also among the injured. The injured were admitted to different hospitals and clinics.

The JCD activists again attacked a procession of the Bangladesh Chhatra Union, taken out in protest at the attack on the BCL, and beat up its leader Sohel Parvez. They intercepted another protest procession by the Progotishil Chhatra Jote.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and its General Secretary Abdul Jalil, leader Asaduzzaman Noor MP and some other top leaders visited the injured at City General Hospital.

Hasina also visited the injured at Dhaka General Hospital and told reporters that the coalition government persistently violated human rights after coming to power.

Unaware of the government decision on recognising the four-year honours course as a professional degree, the BCL leaders at an afternoon press conference vowed to push ahead with the strike for their four-point demand, including arrest and expulsion of JCD attackers and compensation to the injured.

They also announced that they would take out a procession and hold a rally in the capital today, enforce strikes at all educational institutions on Sunday and bring out processions countrywide on Monday.

The Bangladesh Chhatra Federation and Bangladesh Chhatra Maitri protested the attacks led by the JCD.