Put an end to the seat trading at Rajshahi University

A number of teachers and students of Rajshahi University and the parents' of students have organised a sit-in protest against seat trading, harassment of students and anarchy in the residential halls. They formed a human chain on Paris Road adjacent to the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Senate building on Monday afternoon. Although there are many instances of students protesting on campus, teachers and parents being involved in the demonstration is quite an exception.

There are allegations that Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leaders and activists at Rajshahi University are expelling dissident students from the hall on trivial excuses. As a result, the students who get the allotment of seats, cannot stay in the hall. Instead, outsiders affiliated to BCL stay there. A teacher who joined the human chain on Monday lamented, "It is an insult to the liberation war to expel students from the hall in the name of spirit of liberation war."

Seat trading and occupation of public university dormitories has been going on for many years. The pro-ruling student organisations are involved with it. However, the university administration is not only turning a blind eye regarding this, in many cases is also facilitating the wrongdoers. The administration is responsible for allocating and providing seats to the students in the residential halls of the university.

BCL or any other student organisation cannot have anything to say here. There are also allegations that even after losing their studentship seven to eight years ago, a group of BCL activists are still living in dorms in the name of running information cell, propaganda cell and so on. They are making the decision as to who would stay in the dorms and who would not.

This incident has happened not only in Rajshahi University, but in all public universities. Chhatra League also has an absolute dominance in the dormitories of Dhaka University. They also oversee the administration’s activities regarding the allocation of seats in the dorms. BCL put pressure on a teacher to appoint a canteen manager for a residential hall at Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET) last year. The teacher could not bear the pressure and died of a heart attack. Humiliating, threatening and abusing teachers have become a habit of the leaders and workers of the ruling party's student body.

We thank the teachers of Rajshahi University who are protesting against the seat trade and occupation. They are doing their duty as teachers. If the teachers of other universities follow their footprint and protest against injustice, the situation might change.

At the same time, we denounce the role of the inactive university administration. All public university administrations should disclose all information about seat allocation on website or in the form of a notification. They must impose strict restrictions on outsiders from entering the dorms.

The university authorities or the hall administration should ensure that all students are treated equally. Party affiliation should not be the criteria for allocating seats. The university authority is responsible to ensure that the students, who got the admission there as per the merit list, have been attending classes regularly and taking exams, get the chance to stay at dorms. All public university authorities are expected to be alert and diligent in performing this responsibility.