CU Correspondent :
Around 83 percent of the Chittagong University students are facing the accommodation crisis and spending more money by living outside the campus as the administration has failed to provide them with adequate residential facilities.
In addition the number of students is eventually growing up over the years but the number of seats in dormitories remained unchanged. The last residential hall was built in 2010, with a capacity of 250.
The authority afforded to accommodate 4,278 students in nine halls — six for males and three for females — and one hostel where both male and female students reside in separate portions against 24 thousand students, now enrolled in over 48 departments.
The accommodation crisis gets momentum with the arrival of new batches and old students keep staying in the halls because of session jams, according to students and teachers. Visiting several halls, it is found that students of many departments of 2008-09, 09-10, 10-11 academic sessions couldn’t manage to sit for the final examination though they passed six, seven or eight years here.
Meanwhile, the upcoming students, be enrolled in 16-17 session will face more acute accommodation crisis.
On the other hand, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) supporters occupy a large number of rooms in male dormitories, said a student of Shah Amanat Hall, adding, many students prefer to stay off campus, fearing their dominance and violence. He wished anonymity for fear of attack by BCL activists.
Female students, especially the fresher, are the worst sufferers. At present, 100 female students cram into five rooms, popularly known as “gono rooms”, in the three female dormitories.
Because of the hall crisis, the majority have to live in off-campus houses, hostels or messes, spending Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000 including food cost per month, which is double the amount a resident student has to spare — Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,500. But problems follow them there too.
Staying in a private hostel in Zero Point area, Jannatul Mawa said, “We regularly face water shortages here and by fits and large we have to face the eveteasing by the outsiders.
Sukanta Paul, a Finance student living in the city’s Al Falah alley, said, “I have to depend on private tuitions for paying my mess rent as my family is not well off.”
