M M Jasim/Mahmud Hasan :
The government has responded to the demand for constructing residential halls for the students of Jagannath University (JnU).
The Education Ministry has decided to build the hall at Keraniganj instead of on the abandoned land of the Dhaka Central Jail (old) on the Nazimuddin Road in Old Dhaka, the ministry sources said.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid on Sunday said, the Ministry has drafted two proposals to construct the new halls for the JnU students, which will be submitted to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval.
“I believe that the proposals will be passed in the ECNEC meeting and we will be able to start the work by 2017,” he said.
The minister said this at a meeting held between the minister and the JnU Teachers’ Association (JnUTA) in the Home Ministry’s auditorium on Sunday.
A 13-member teachers’ representative led by JnUTA President Professor Kazi Saifuddin met the minister with a view to resolving the ongoing crisis due to continuous demonstration of the students for residential halls.
Nurul Islam Nahid said, “We will build a 10-storey building for the male students at Keraniganj.
A 20-storey academic building will be built on the campus. A female hall is being constructed. It will be opened soon.”
“We also found two lands at Purbachal and Jhilmil projects. The process to buy the lands is going on. The problem will be solved if we can buy the lands,” the minister said. He also asked the teachers’ leaders to find new land for constructing halls in Keraniganj.
Meanwhile, Raisul Islam Noyon, a spokesman of the ongoing movement, told The New Nation that the students have no faith in the speech of the Education Minister and other top officials of the Ministry for their breach of commitment in the past.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is well aware of our problem. She wants to steer the country in front. We want to meet her and we will stop our movement after getting assurance from her,” Noyon said.
He says that the ministry’s initiative is just eyewash. It is nothing but to stop the movement. So, the students will continue movement until getting assurance from the PM, he said.
Maruf Nahian, another agitator, said the Education Minister told us several times to resolve our crisis. The students believed his commitments, but he breach his stance.
It may be mentioned that the Jagannath College became university in 2005.
The students began their demonstration for the fourth time on August 2 this year for halls on the land where the Dhaka Central Jail was situated on Nazimuddin Road in Old Dhaka.
