Masum Billah :
Whenever any untoward incident takes place in our higher educational institutions, the authorities declare the closure as the easiest solution so far to avoid further incident without giving a second thought to the miserable condition the girl students face. COVID-19 forced us to keep the educational institutions closed for nineteen months together and KUET students received only fifteen days class after its reopening. On top of that, two assassinations took place that compelled another one week closure of classes. Recently the death of a young and meritorious teacher aged 38 years met death following the rough behavior of a student wing who belong to the party in power creating another sad example in the highest seat of learning. The teacher was a professor in the department of Electrical and Electrical Engineering who could not digest the unruly behavior and threat of the students who took him to his office by force and it was followed by closure of the university and students were asked to vacate the halls by 4 pm on 03 December 2021. It sounds well to hear that out of four thousand students of KUET, 800 of them are girls. These meritorious students are going to positively contribute to the nation. However, within seconds this positive thought gets shrouded by black cloud to remember how they are polluting the sacred campus!
The university authorities have yet to understand the problem the girl students face when universities get suddenly closed, particularly the higher educational students located in remote parts of the country such as Khulna, Dinjapur and Patuakhali. I experienced several times the mayhem caused by the declaration of university suddenly though I studied at Jahangirnar University, adjacent to Dhaka. Once, we were asked to vacate the halls by five pm when police have already cordoned our halls. I somehow managed to escape the hall and took shelter in the university post office peon’s small room where I stayed the whole night and found the police vehicles and lorries moving around the campus. Next day, I came to the road very carefully to take to Barishal bound bus. I then thought what was the situation of girl students who could not go to even Dhaka city to take shelter at any relatives and distant relative’s house. So, university authorities’ easy solution to close down the university must come to an end considering the difficult situation girl students usually face particularly the institutions standing in remote places.
The young learners of university embroil themselves in heinous activities because of their leading free and carefree life and mostly by the blessings of the party they belong to. This tradition has seriously vitiated and corrupted the entire gamut of higher education. Still, we pretend not to understand its poisonous effect and they need to be prepared and groomed accordingly. Several days back we witnessed how a student of Sylhet Medical College was tortured by his fellow classmates and party followers. Mymensingh Ananda Mohan College has been closed due to a clash between two factions of Chattra League. All these are well known to those who run the state. However, no action is taken as an example to stop such kind of incident on the sacred campuses of higher educational institutions. They rather get indirect encouragement from the high ups. We have come to learn that Dr. Selim died of heart attack following students’ altercation, mental and psychological torture put under him. It is surely a serious crime which is tantamount to murder. However, these students don’t bother about it. Why? They know nothing will happen to them. They also know the university authorities have nothing to do with them. This culture has shed the cloud of darkness over the higher educational institutions. It is learnt from newspapers that the selection of Lalon Shah Hall canteen caterer led the student wing to behave with their teacher roughly that he could not bear and responded to it by his quick and unnatural death. Their rude and non-student behaviour hastened his death. These students seem to have license to do it and no common students dare, raise any issue against their crime. Teachers cannot talk against them even. How an educational institution will run if muscle power prevails there continuously! What a small and petty interest of the students makes them inhuman! What they will give to the nation? The poor taxpayers’ money is spent in such a way? What education they are getting from this highest seat of learning? A committee was formed to probe the cause of death where two teachers out of three expressed their inability to do it which is another point shrouded in mystery. That might be because of the difference of colour on which teachers are divided or they know they would not be free to develop the report based on the fact or some unknown beckon did not allow them to continue the probe. All this puts us into a question what we are going to achieve at the cost of burying the truth. Students will show their demonstration for several days out of their respect and emotion towards their teacher who left this mundane world and arrange human chain. However, after several days another issue of the university or of the country will sink this incident into the sea of oblivion. Nobody will raise this issue again.
The role of VCs and Principals in response to such kind of incidents seems very frustrating as they can do nothing except supporting directly or indirectly the student wing of the party in power. So, the speech, promise and trial of VCs and Principals don’t exert any impact on the mindset of the people. They are absolutely powerless and helpless before the students who belong to any party that our Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader uttered two months ago `our VCs follow students’ orders and beck’. It convinces us that prevailing way of employing/selecting Vice Chancellors and Principals of University Colleges need to be changed. The VCs and the Principals cannot give any attention to academic and research related works of the universities and colleges. They have to remain busy with settling down the chaos and conflicts among the intra-party conflicts and conflicts among different students wings. Of course, without the state policy and state support these people cannot do anything. Politics will follow its own course and so will education. How to prepare the future national builders and leaders giving them proper education that must accommodate love for the country and create opportunity to fully bloom human qualities ignoring the petty interest of intra-party feud. As the VCs and Principals have to deal with these nasty affairs, they cannot solely and purely dedicate their time and energy in the greater interest of higher education. Through some of them try to contribute positively and neutrally, they cannot do so because of their insecurity. The unruly students don’t bother about the honour, position and honesty of a teacher. In this perspective, we need to decide whether we will allow the current odds in the campus to continue or ensure an environment where students prepare well for facing the 21st century challenges and contributing positively to the nation and humanity.
(Masum Billah President- ETAB ( English Teachers’ Association of Bangladesh) and works as an Education Expert in BRAC Education Program Email: [email protected])
