Jahangirnagar University: Accommodation ‘crisis’ resolved, women’s safety takes centre stage

Jahangirnagar University is traditionally renowned as a fully residential university. However, during the tenure of the ousted Awami League government, an ‘artificial’ seat crisis persisted due to the absolute dominance of the Bangladesh Chhatra League-BCL (now a banned organisation).

Upon completing their studies, leaders and activists of the organisation routinely retained possession of their rooms to maintain political blocs. Consequently, general students were forced to spend their first and second years in gonorooms (congested communal rooms). As

room allocations were predominantly based on political considerations, students occasionally failed to secure a designated seat even in their fourth year.

Following the mass uprising, this artificial accommodation crisis was resolved after these ‘expired students’ from BCL vacated the residential halls. Currently, the hall administrations are allocating seats across the 21 residential halls with the assistance of hall parliament leaders. Every few months, lists of students who have completed their graduation are compiled, and they are urged to vacate the halls.

Over the past few years, the occupation of seats, gonoroom and guestroom cultures, mugging, extortion, and drug abuse were daily occurrences in Jahangirnagar University’s residential halls.

Since the mass uprising, no incidents of accommodation crises, ragging, or psychological abuse in guestrooms have been reported. However, although the supply of medicine and the number of physicians at the medical centre have increased, the quality of healthcare remains questionable.

Dissatisfaction also persists regarding the low quality of food provided in the dinings and canteens. Furthermore, students are yet to find peace of mind due to moral policing, harassment of women, shortages of classrooms and teachers, and complexities in administrative services.

Most recently, an attempted rape of a female student on campus on the night of 12 May has raised fresh concerns regarding the university’s security system.

Students of the university stated that when Chhatra League was active on campus, the gonoroom and guestroom cultures were synonymous with terror for first- and second-year students.

They recounted that as night fell, first-year students were regularly subjected to physical ordeals in the gonorooms, such as being forced to do squats while holding their ears, leap around, or maintain a ‘chicken’ posture. On occasion, students were beaten so severely that their eardrums ruptured.

Students further alleged that after transitioning from the first year to the second year, they were subjected to abuse in the hall guestrooms under the guise of being taught ‘manners’. However, they confirmed that this culture of ragging (abuse) in gonorooms and guestrooms has now been completely abolished.

Touhid Siam, a resident student of Al-Beruni Hall, remarked that the primary objective of abuse in the gonorooms was to foster a culture of fear, thereby creating a loyal cadre of juniors for Chhatra League leaders and inducting them into politics.

“The situation is no longer like that,” he added. Students can now freely socialise, work on assignments, or engage in group studies in the hall guestrooms.

Abeda Sultana, President of the Provost Committee, confirmed that the gonoroom culture no longer exists in any of the university’s residential halls.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, she stated that every student now occupies their own designated seat. She expressed optimism that such a gonoroom system would never be allowed to resurface in the future.

Students have alleged an increase in incidents of female harassment and moral policing on campus. Most recently, at around 11:00 pm on 12 May, an attempt was made to rape a female student after she was dragged into the dark from a road adjacent to the abandoned Fazilatunnesa Hall.

Following the incident, although the face of a suspect was identified through CCTV footage, law enforcement agencies are yet to ascertain his identity. The following day, on 13 May, the university administration filed a case at Ashulia police station, citing charges of attempted murder and attempted rape.

In the wake of this incident, students have been staging protests, demanding the swift arrest and exemplary punishment of the perpetrator, alongside a secure campus. Concurrently, demands have emerged for the resignation of the Proctor due to the failure to provide adequate security.

Prior to this, on Pohela Boishakh, a construction worker was detained by students while surreptitiously filming objectionable videos of women. A subsequent search of his mobile phone revealed that he had been recording such videos for several months.

The day before that incident, two students from the university’s irregular (weekend) courses were detained at the Bottola area of the university while secretly taking photographs of regular students.

Furthermore, allegations have surfaced that a faction of students roams various locations at night for moral policing. However, identifying the accused individuals in these cases remains difficult.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, a female resident of Rokeya Hall said, “On warm nights, if we sit somewhere quiet to catch a breeze, people often drive past on motorbikes and hurl offensive remarks. If a male and a female student sit together at night, they target us with abusive language. These incidents have been occurring more frequently of late.”

Asserting that steps are being taken to bolster overall security on campus, the University Proctor, Professor AKM Rashidul Alam, told Prothom Alo that the issue regarding construction workers had been discussed with the Project Director, who was instructed to take necessary measures.

Regarding moral policing, he noted that no specific complaints had been received, adding that action would certainly be taken upon receiving formal complaints.

There is only one medical centre to cater to approximately 15,000 students of the university. For a long time, paracetamol was prescribed at the medical centre as a remedy for almost any ailment. Out of frustration, students dubbed the facility the ‘Napa Centre’.

During the JUCSU (Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union) elections, a key pledge made by most candidates was the development of the medical centre and the procurement of food subsidies for the dinings and canteens.

Although some changes have been introduced at the medical centre under the leadership of JUCSU, students noted that the improvements have not met expectations. They see no visible improvement in the quality of food either.

According to sources at the medical centre, previously only 10 to 12 types of medicines were available; however, more than 80 varieties of medical supplies are currently stocked. Furthermore, while only 13 physicians used to provide services in the past, the number of part-time physicians has recently been increased by seven. Nevertheless, no female physician remains on duty after 8:00 pm.

Nadia Rahman, a fourth-year student of the Management Studies department, said, “The university halls are like our homes. Female students can fall ill at any time; yet, no female physician is available at the medical centre after 8:00 pm. A comprehensive medical service cannot be run effectively with just two female physicians.”

For a long time, university students have been demanding that the administration provide subsidies to improve the quality of food in the dinings. However, even seven months after the JUCSU elections, no progress has been made regarding food quality in the dinings and canteens.

Ahsan Habib, a resident student of Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq Hall, remarked, “A single meal can be obtained at the dining hall for 30 taka. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this food is consumed merely to fill one’s stomach to survive. If the administration provided subsidies in this sector, we might have been able to consume nutritious food.”

In this regard, Hosne Mubarak, the Secretary of Health and Food Safety of JUCSU, stated that they are trying to introduce various changes, including adding new medicines to the medical centre and appointing part-time doctors. However, the administration flatly refused to provide subsidies for the dinings and canteens.

He added that even though they expressed intent to secure subsidies from the ministry, the administration actively discouraged the initiative.

Students reported an acute shortage of classrooms in several departments, including the Department of Law and Justice, and the Institute of Comparative Literature and Culture. In most instances, while students of one batch attend classes, students of another batch are forced to wait outside.

Despite this classroom crisis, the university administration continues to offer nothing but assurances, showing little practical initiative to resolve the problem.

Furthermore, the Registrar Building and the Office of the Controller of Examinations continue to function as they did in the past. Students are subjected to harassment, having to navigate five to seven different offices to perform routine tasks such as depositing examination fees or withdrawing certificates.

Students have long been demanding automation to streamline these processes. Although the administration claimed that initiatives are underway, no tangible progress has been made.

Meanwhile, there is a shortage of over a hundred teachers across various departments of the university. No new faculty members have been recruited in any department since the mass uprising. Although nearly two years have passed since the current administration assumed office, no teachers have been appointed. However, the authorities have recently published a recruitment notice to fill 31 faculty positions across various departments.

Commenting on the overall situation, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan, explained that teacher recruitment was paused to introduce certain reforms to the recruitment policy. However, the new faculty recruitment guidelines have now been finalised, and the teacher shortage will be resolved gradually.

He added that efforts to address the classroom shortage are ongoing, and the crisis will ease once the construction of the Lecture Theatre and the extended building of the Faculty of Arts is completed. The automation process is also currently underway.

According to conversations with various internal and local business operators surrounding the university, Chhatra League leaders and activists previously collected monthly extortion fees from businesses including internet services, cable networks, eateries, and bus counters.

There were also past allegations of business owners being confined and tortured in residential halls if they failed to pay extortion money. Furthermore, complaints were common regarding the halting of buses operating on the Dhaka-Aricha highway to extract money before releasing them, detaining human haulers (legunas) for cash when monthly payouts were missed, or detaining outsiders within the campus to extort money.

Campus and local business operators noted that since the mass uprising, such incidents of extortion or mugging have virtually ceased to surface.

Hazrat Ali, the owner of an eatery near the university’s Bottola area, stated, “Previously, a large section of customers at our Bottola shops would eat on credit and leave without paying. If we asked for the money, shopkeepers were frequently beaten up. Fortunately, such incidents no longer occur.”

Those associated with the university noted that during the tenure of the ousted Awami League government, the activities of student organisations such as Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir were effectively banned on campus.

Outside of the ruling party’s student wing, Chhatra League, only left-wing student organisations were permitted to conduct political activities. However, that situation has completely changed.

According to accounts provided by students, Islami Chhatra Shibir commenced public political activities on campus in November 2024, breaking a 35-year hiatus. The following year, in September 2025, the JUCSU elections were held after a gap of 33 years. In that election, Chhatra Shibir secured a landslide victory, winning 20 out of 25 positions. On the other hand, Chhatra Dal is also conducting its political activities independently.

Students noted that these student organisations have been seen undertaking various welfare-oriented programmes, such as seminars, health camps, admission assistance, and scholarship schemes for students. However, since the parliamentary elections on 12 February, a degree of friction has emerged between Chhatra Dal, Chhatra Shibir, Chhatra Shakti, and JUCSU.

Mazharul Islam, the General Secretary of both JUCSU and the university branch of Chhatra Shibir, noted that there was mutual understanding and respect among all student organisations during the anti-fascist movement.

He added, “Recently, due to certain national issues or pressure from central party leadership, some differences of opinion and animosities have surfaced. All organisations must eliminate these grievances and hostilities through mutual respect. Otherwise, the general students will not perceive us favourably.”

Zahiruddin Mohammad Babar, the Convenor of the university branch of Chhatra Dal, stated that they wish to ensure the peaceful coexistence of all student organisations on campus.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, he added, “However, certain organisations are attempting to engage in negative politics under the guise of clandestine political activities. If anyone deceives the general students, the consequences will not be pleasant.”