NEWS report in a national English daily on Saturday said instead of hall provosts of the Dhaka University leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student front of the ruling party Awami League allocate seats to newly admitted students in residential dormitories giving a damn to existing laws. It appears that a nexus of the hall authorities and BCL leaders is at work as part of the politicization of the entire campus in which the rules of law has no say at all. In fact BCL men select whether or not a student will get accommodation at the dormitories and in the process they force the students to become instrumental to their party politics. And it means that any body who may not agree with BCL politics or belong to other student groups will not get the seat and rather face humiliating treatment.
The report said that DU hall authorities are not reacting to the snatching of their authorities and rather keeping silent although the University Ordinance and Regulation (Part-II), 1973 Section-13 said such practice is clearly unlawful. The existing law said only the hall authorities will look after the seat allotment. But the report has quoted the hall authorities as saying that they are not legally obliged to provide the freshers with residential facilities. Meanwhile, they are also allowing outsider BCL men to stay in the residential halls occupying at least 250 rooms at the moment at a time when members of rival student groups are almost under the ban to live in the dormitories.
The university has 19 halls at the moment and out of them 13 for male and 6 for female students having the capacity for 12,000. The disclosure has in fact highlighted how students go through mental stress as BCL men force them to join political rallies and processions. In many cases, first-year students can’t attend classes during political programmes. BCL men visit their rooms and ask them to gather at the hall gates take part in processions and parade through the campus and outside it. Often they keep the gates locked so that no one can sneak out to avoid taking part in a programme. Students are often forced to attend political gatherings at the hall guestrooms abandoning studies and those who fail to attend face physical and mental torture including seat cancellation or forceful eviction.
The most unfortunate part of the entire episode appears to be that the varsity proctoral authorities have admitted of the highly unusual situation while indicating at the same time that they are helpless in restoring order. The Vice-Chancellor reportedly said it is the responsibility of the hall authorities and he has nothing to do. In fact the disclosure suggests that the DU halls and the entire campus have turned out to be the den of the students wing of the ruling party where students of neutral outlook and belonging to other parties have no visible place. They are often chased and physically assaulted at and driven out. The silence of the DU authorities in establishing a peaceful environment and apolitical treatment to all students is highly regrettable. We hold the view that academic environment must be restored to the campus.
