The University of Dhaka is now 100 years old. It is a matter of pride and joy for us that country’s premier academic institution for higher studies has been able to touch a century with excellence and achievements. The moment deserves a grand and joyous celebration even though a fresh threat of new Covid-19 variants grips the nation again. If there is an opportunity to blissfully evaluate the achievements of any institution, there should be a scope to critically review also its failures. But we find little initiatives have so far been taken in this regard. The limelight is always on insignificant but popular events. No serious work and extraordinary achievements are getting priority. A section of teachers are happy with the university’s current situation. They don’t want to acknowledge the fact that it has already lagged behind in generating and disseminating knowledge which should be at par with international-standard to stand up to the global competition.
Though DU is known as Oxford of the East, it has no place in the world-ranking list of best universities. In respect of the number of students the DU has now taken a giant shape. It has 13 faculties, 83 departments, 12 institutes, 20 residential halls, 3 hostels, and more than 56 research centres. The numbers of students and teachers are about 37,018 and 1,992 respectively. Many of us do not want to remember that it was not so easy to set up a university in this part of Bengal 100 years ago. The socio-political situation was not favourable to establish a higher educational institution in this part of Bengal. The then governor of Bengal Lord Lytton, who was also Chancellor of the DU, in his speech at the convocation on February 22, 1923 said: “….this University is Dacca’s greatest possession, and will do more than anything else to increase and spread the fame of Dacca beyond the limits of Bengal or even of India itself”.
The university played a significant role in every political movement in the region. DU’s role in the Liberation War was extraordinary. Similarly, this highest educational institution achieved fame for functioning as the main platform for free thought, free speech and the practice of democracy. Sadly enough the DU has recently lost its reputation not only in academic standards but also in democratic practice. Most of the DU students are affiliated to political parties. The teachers are also divided into political groups. For that reason, the country’s major problems do not create any pressure on them, rather they work on political lines. The Dhaka University Central Students’ Union, known as DUCSU, is almost paralyzed due to political reasons. Yet despite many odds, the DU is the treasure of hope for the nation. We’ve to be careful that no petty political interest spoils the nation’s place of pride. We the university will prove equal to its glorious past.
