Locals demand academic session from this year

Committee for Implementation of Academic Activities at Barisal University forms a human chain in Barisal city yesterday demanding steps for admission of students to the newly established university from the current academic session.Photo: STAR

Teachers, students, local elites and representative from socio-political and cultural organisations yesterday formed a human chain in the city to press home their demand for starting academic session at Barisal University from this year.
Committee for Implementation of Academic Activities at Barisal University organised the programme in front of the Ashwini Kumar Hall in the morning.
Addressing a rally at the venue, the leaders of the committee also threatened to go for tougher agitation if their demand was not met.
They said the decision to establish a public university was first approved by late president Ziaur Rahman in a cabinet meeting on November 23, 1979 at Barisal Circuit House.
The then prime minister Khaleda Zia laid the foundation stone of the university on a 50-acre land on September 17, 2006 at Defulia on the outskirts of the city after the parliament passed a bill, naming the university after Ziaur Rahman.
The last caretaker government changed the site for the university to Goriar Par near Barisal-Dhaka Highway, about 8-km from the city on November 10, 2008.
University Grants Commission published an advertisement for appointment of a vice chancellor for the university on November 25, 2008 and Ecnec approved a Tk 95 crore fund on November 29, 2008.
The authorities also decided to start classes of five departments of the university in 16 rooms of Barisal Zila School from 2009-10 academic session.
However, the project was abandoned after the grand alliance came to power.
The AL-led government on March 9, 2010 piloted a bill in the parliament styled Shaheed Ziaur Rahman University Barisal (Amendment) Bill 2010 for renaming of the university as Barisal University, which was duly passed.
Prof Harunor Rashid Khan, project director of Barisal University Implementation Project, said classes of Barisal University may be started from 2011-12 academic session after building infrastructures on its own premises.