BCL controls RU halls, students don’t get seats

Chhatra League leaders, even though they are no longer students, are occupying a large number of seats at Rajshahi University residential halls. At the same times, many genuine students are not getting entry into the halls even though they have been allocated seats. In Shaheed Suhrawardy Hall alone, over a hundred seats are in Chhatra League control. The administration can do nothing.

No specific account was available of how many Chhatra League leaders are residing at the halls even though not being regular students. In October last year, a 39-member ad hoc committee of RU Chhatra League was announced. At least 9 non-students of the committee are staying at the halls in full dominance. They include the university Chhatra League president Mustafizur Rahman (Babu) and general secretary Asadulla-Hil-Galib, six vice presidents and one joint general secretary. There are also a number of followers of the president and general secretary in the hall committee and previous committee who are staying in the halls despite being non-students.

Asadulla-Hil-Galib and his follower, organising secretary Zahid Hasan, occupy two four-seated rooms in two halls. There are also leaders who, after the new committee was formed, exchanged halls with the two top leaders and made Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall their den.

Senior professors say, there is an accommodation crisis at the university. Many meritorious and poor students are not getting seats in the halls. Yet the university administration is nonchalant about the ruling party's student wing leaders and activists. The administration often appears helpless. This is totally unwarranted.

Sources in the academic wing say that there are over 26,000 regular students at Rajshahi University. Of them, 16,969 are make students. There are 11 residential halls with a total of 5,383 seats, which is far less than required. As a result, most of the students live in messes near the university. The student halls are controlled by Chhatra League men. They occupy the halls, evict students and resort to other misdemeanours, it is alleged.

There are over 100 seats vacant in Suhrawardy Hall, according to the records. But in actuality, these are occupied by Chhatra League leaders and activists. That is why the administration cannot accommodate the students in the rooms allocated to them.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, the hall provost Jahangir Hossain, said, "A deadline was set for the non-residential students and the non-students to vacate the hall by 16 May. But they did not budge. Many students have been allocated rooms in the hall, but we can't accommodate them in their seats because the rooms haven't been vacated. Chhatra League leaders and activists are occupying these seats."

The others halls face the same predicament. The general students are angry, but can't speak out. Faisal Ahmed, a second-year history student, is a residential student of Shah Mukhdum Hall. He has been allocated Room 135, but still hasn't been able to stay there. He told Prothom Alo, "A Chhatra League leader is occupying my seat. I went to the room but he used the name of a Chhatra League leader and didn't allow me to move in."

On the first floor of the university's Madar Bux Hall, the words 'Secretary Block' are displayed on the wall near the stairs. Names are written prominently in red paint above the doors of four rooms. Written above the door of Room 215 is 'Md Asadulla-Hil-Galib, General Secretary, Bangladesh Chhatra League, Rajshahi University.' This is a four-seat room. But after he got the post of general secretary, he has been staying at Room 228 of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall. That is a four-seat room too. He occasionally spends at night at the room in Madar Bux Hall. The leaders and activists give him a 'red carpet reception' when he comes to this hall.

Asadulla-Hil-Galib had been a student of the international relations department of the 2014-15 academic year. He passed the first year, but failed to pass the second year. He later lost his studentship. He used a 'fake certificate' of some private university in Dhaka to now get enrolled in an evening course for mass communications and journalism at Rajshahi University.

Another top leader, president of RU Chhatra League Mustafizur Rahman, stays alone at the four-seat Room 230 at Bangabandhu Hall. Mustafizur has been a student of the mass communications and journalism department of the 2013-2014 academic year. After graduating, he got enrolled in a short course at the Institute of English and Other Languages in order to retain his studentship.

According to sources at the university's academic wing, those enrolled in evening courses and short courses can in no way be considered regular students. They are not entitled to residential hall and transport facilities.

Above the door of Room 214 of Madar Bux Hall, there is the name of general secretary Galib's follower, RU Chhatra League's organising secretary Zahid Hasan. That is a four-seat room too. However, he presently stays in a four-seat room in Bangabandhu Hall. Another Chhatra League leader stays in that room, according to party sources.

RU Chhatra League vice president Monu Mohan Bappa alone occupies two seats in Room 129 of Shah Mukhdum Hall. Despite no longer being students, vice presidents of the present committee Shahinul Islam Sarkar, Mesbahul Islam, Touhidul Islam, Tamanna Akhter, Abul Bashar Ahmed and joint general secretary Sadequl Islam are occupying rooms in various halls.

It has been learnt that the last RU Chhatra League committee's joint general secretary Saif Karim (Rupom), education and study circle secretary Jamshed Sabuj, sports assistant secretary Rupok, Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy Hall's vice president Mazharul Islam, Nawab Abdul Latif Hall's vice president Tasbiq Al Touhid and many other leaders are staying at the halls despite being non-students.

RU Chhatra League president Mustafizur Rahman claims that he has no information of any non-student occupying any seat or room in the halls. He said, "All the seats in the halls are allocated in the names of regular students. The students who have been allocated the seats, may be keeping some 'big brother' in their rooms. As for the names of the committee members that have been mentioned, many of them are not in the campus any more. Legitimate students are staying in their hall seats." He gave assurance that if there were any discrepancies, he would extend cooperation to the provost and university administration to take effective measures.

The university Chhatra League president Mustafizur Rahman would originally stay at the Syed Amir Ali Hall. As he was no longer a student, the hall provost and president of the last RU Chhatra League committee Golam Kibria's followers, evicted him from the hall. He became active in politics before the Chhatra League committee was declared in October last year. After he was nominated as president, he started staying alone in a four-seat room of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall. Even before, the university Chhatra League leaders would occupy rooms at Bangabandhu Hall.

After the university Chhatra League committee was formed, many leaders and activists left their halls and moved into in other halls. There are around at least one dozen such leaders and activists of the present and previous committee who have changed halls. Some of them are general secretary Asadulla-Hil-Galib, joint general secretaries Bhashkar Saha and Sadequl Islam, organising secretary Zahid Hasan, Habibur Rahman Hall's vice president Islail Hossain and others. Other than one, the rest of them presently all stay at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall.

There are no visible steps of the university administration or the hall administration regarding non-students living in the student halls. Taskif Al Touhid had been suspended on allegations of torturing a student, but after being given a leadership position, he is back at Nawab Abdul Latif Hall. Over the past one year, eviction notices have been issued to non-resident students and non-students in a number of halls, but none of them have moved out. Meritorious, poor and needy students are supposed to be given priority for hall accommodation, but they are the most helpless. No one gets seats without Chhatra League approval.

A Chhatra League activist, on condition of anonymity, told Prothom Alo, "I tried hard to move into the hall through the hall administration. But they said, 'First find a vacant seat.' As my family is not well-off, I managed to move into the hall through a 'big brother' on condition that I join politics."

Attempts were made to contact vice chancellor Golam Shabbir Sattar over mobile phone for his comments on the issue, but he was unavailable. Pro-vice chancellor Sultan-Ul-Islam acknowledged that seats were forcefully occupied in the halls, saying that since these problems have cropped up again, the administration has been requested to provide the relevant information. They have been told to clear up the matter as far as they can. Efforts will be made to resolve the issue.