Students facing session jams even before university begins

Students were seen sitting scattered across the Dhaka College premises, filling in admission-related documents. Some were accompanied by guardians, while others had come alone.

Such a scene was observed on Thursday at Dhaka College, where admission activities are under way as part of the 2024–25 academic year’s undergraduate (honours) first-year enrolment under the proposed ‘Dhaka Central University’, which will comprise the seven colleges of Dhaka.

However, while students of these seven colleges are still completing admission formalities, students of the University of Dhaka have already completed nearly five months of classes in the current academic year. Even applications for admission to the first-year undergraduate programme for the upcoming 2025–26 academic year were closed on 16 November.

The admission test for the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) will begin on 28 November and admission tests for all other units of the university will be completed by 20 December. The situation is almost the same in other universities.

In contrast, although the admission process for the seven government colleges in Dhaka is nearing completion, classes have not yet begun. Today, Sunday, had earlier been a tentative date for classes to start.

However, the deadline for admission-related formalities has now been extended to 25 November. The new tentative date for classes to start is 30 November.

A teacher at Dhaka College, requesting anonymity, told Prothom Alo that admitting students and providing academic instruction under a proposed university is not legally permissible. “The structure is unclear and we do not yet know our position within it. Until these matters are finalised, we are not in favour of starting first-year classes,” he said.

In such circumstances, students are facing severe session backlogs even before the university officially begins its operations. They have stated that unless the ordinance for the new university is issued promptly and classes begin without delay, they will be forced to initiate protests.

The seven government colleges in Dhaka have been grappling with problems for a long time. In 2017, these colleges were affiliated with the University of Dhaka without adequate preparation. The institutions are Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Begum Badrunnessa Mohila College, Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Kabi Nazrul Government College, Government Bangla College and Titumir College. Of these, only Eden and Titumir Colleges offer undergraduate and postgraduate programmes; the remaining five provide instruction at the higher secondary, undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

These colleges together accommodate around 150,000 students. For the current academic year, there are approximately 11,000 seats available for first-year undergraduate (honours) admission. The seven colleges have over one thousand teachers in total.

In the face of student protests, the authorities announced in January this year that the seven colleges would once again be separated from the University of Dhaka.

However, the cancellation of affiliation before the establishment of the new university has further complicated the situation. At present, activities are being run under an interim arrangement, with the Principal of Dhaka College acting as the administrator.

Recently, the government’s plan to merge the seven colleges into a new university has come into public discussion. However, differences of opinion remain among teachers and students regarding the structure.

Instead of resolving the crisis, new complexities are emerging. In this situation, teachers observed a three-day work stoppage from 18 to 20 November.

Meanwhile, complications have also arisen in the admission process. Although the admission examination took place in August, the process has still not been completed due to various difficulties.

During the teachers’ movement, Dhaka College authorities engaged administrative staff to continue the admission work.

During a visit to Dhaka College on Thursday, several students aspiring to enrol in the Economics, English, Psychology and Statistics departments expressed frustration over the delays in admission and starting of classes.

They said that whereas students of other universities have already started classes months ago and some have even completed almost a semester, they have yet to begin classes despite completing admission.

Teachers have alleged that a certain quarter is unnecessarily complicating a straightforward matter. According to them, the issues could be easily resolved by establishing an affiliating-type university.

Others are of the view that the colleges could remain under the University of Dhaka, provided adequate manpower is allocated and administrative activities for the seven colleges are operated from a separate campus outside the main university premises.

When professor Wahiduddin Mahmud served as the education adviser, discussions initially focused on adopting such an arrangement. However, a hybrid model for the new university later emerged.

Under the proposed model, 40 per cent of classes would be held online and 60 per cent in person, with all examinations conducted physically. Unlike the current system, all subjects would not be taught in each college. Instead, one or more colleges would hold classes based on academic schools.

The seven colleges would be grouped under four schools to run teaching and research activities. As a result, many existing subjects would no longer be offered. After this model was presented, objections increased significantly. Teachers and higher secondary students oppose the proposal, though many undergraduate and postgraduate students support it.

Speaking to several teachers revealed that, as the proposed university has not yet been established, they are unable to conduct first year classes under it. However, they have no restrictions on teaching higher secondary and other years.

Dhaka College Principal and interim administrator of the proposed Dhaka Central University, professor AKM Elias, told Prothom Alo that the solution is simple, if the authorities establish the university in accordance with the preferred model of teachers and most students.

He added that they cannot begin the admission process for the next academic year until the current year’s admissions are completed.