Complications emerge over admission to 7 colleges in Dhaka
People familiar with the matter say that these seven colleges were hastily affiliated with Dhaka University in 2017 without sufficient preparation
A new complication is emerging with the announcement that students will not be admitted to the seven major colleges in Dhaka under Dhaka University.
The application process for the undergraduate (honours) first-year admission in these colleges has already started. However, it has not been clarified under which authority these colleges will conduct their admission tests. As a result, the situation regarding the admission process has become uncertain.
The government plans to create a new university for these seven colleges, though it is a time-consuming process. A committee related to this issue has yet to finalise its recommendations or determine the “model” of the university.
It is expected that the committee will need about a month to make its recommendations. In the meantime, it remains undecided under which university these colleges will operate, and no interim arrangements have been announced.
The application process for undergraduate programmes in these seven colleges for the 2024-25 academic year began on 6 January, with the application period scheduled to end on 12 February. The admission test was planned for April.
Professor Mostafizur Rahman, the convener of the online admission committee for the seven colleges under Dhaka University, told Prothom Alo on Tuesday that the application process is still ongoing. A meeting is scheduled for Wednesday to discuss the issue, and decisions will be made based on the outcome of the meeting.
He further said if the decision is made that application information and fees should be submitted to the college principals or the responsible officials, the necessary steps will be taken.
During the rule of the ousted Awami League government, there was a plan to bring government colleges under the control of autonomous and public universities. As part of this plan, on 17 February 2017, the first batch of seven colleges in Dhaka was affiliated with Dhaka University.
These colleges are Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Kobi Nazrul Government College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Women’s College, Government Bangla College, and Government Titumir College. These colleges have a total of almost 200,000 students.
People familiar with the matter say that these seven colleges were hastily affiliated with Dhaka University in 2017 without sufficient preparation.
Even after nearly eight years, issues related to exams, quality education, and other problems have not been fully resolved. As a result, students from these colleges have repeatedly protested.
Sources at the education ministry and the University Grants Commission (UGC) said that the authorities at Dhaka University made the decision to no longer keep these colleges under the university without consulting them.
As of Tuesday, the education ministry and UGC did not held any official meeting to discuss the next steps in light of this decision.
Education adviser professor Wahiduddin Mahmud at an event in Dhaka on Tuesday said that the announcement made by Dhaka University had not been discussed with him beforehand. He was not prepared for the announcement that admissions would cease from this year.
He also mentioned that he was unaware of the meeting between the principals of the seven colleges and the university authorities regarding the cancellation of the affiliation and admission.
Wahiduddin Mahmud stated that the current situation is unexpected, and they would hold further discussions with all parties involved to resolve the impasse.
Dhaka University sources have said that a quick decision had to be made due to the protests from students.
However, according to the 1973 order, Dhaka University is an autonomous institution, and it has the authority to make decisions regarding education.
Professor Mohammad Tanjimuddin Khan, a member of the UGC responsible for public universities, told Prothom Alo on Tuesday that the authorities at Dhaka University had not contacted him regarding this matter.
He also mentioned that the UGC has limited involvement in this case since Dhaka University operates under the 1973 order.
As part of ongoing meetings regarding the creation of a separate university for these seven colleges, a committee led by the UGC has discussed the issues related to exams and future recommendations with officials from Dhaka University, including Mohammad Bahalul Haque Chowdhury, the controller of exams.
The committee has been addressing problems related to exams at these colleges and considering future solutions.
The protesting students from the seven colleges have demanded that the university’s outline be published within 15 days and that the university’s activities begin within a month through a presidential ordinance. On Tuesday evening, the students raised five demands in front of the Shaheed Minar at Dhaka College.