DU gives in to students' protests
In the face of the students' protest programmes for the last 16 days, Dhaka University (DU) authorities are finally going to reconsider the amount of fine to impose on students failing to achieve 75 percent class attendance.
DU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique yesterday said the Academic Council, comprised of the faculty deans, department chairpersons and the VC, would soon reconsider the amount bearing in mind the students' economic condition.
However, he did not disclose what the amount could be.
On August 7, the council decided that students must have 75 percent attendance after each six-month-long semester to give the final exam otherwise a Tk 5,000 fine would be slapped on them. Formally it was Tk 1,000.
Those having less than 60 percent would be declared non-collegiate and barred from attending the final exam.
Afterwards, several hundred students of different departments under the banner “General students of Dhaka University” began holding agitation programmes, rallies and processions, calling to revoke the “autocratic decision”.
At one point, the agitating students threatened to hold fast-unto-death programmes.
Attending regular classes is quite hard for hundreds of DU students who have to work part-time in places like shopping malls, coaching centers and call centres to support themselves, they said.
One student, Rezaul Karim, of Department of International Relations, said “It is impossible for me to have 75 percent attendance. I came from a lower-middle-class family and it is not possible for my family to bear my education expenses.
“I must work part-time.”
Another student said, “What will happen if someone falls sick or has an accident? This decision would destroy the normal flow of our education.”
Some students alleged that teachers themselves sometimes do not take regular classes. The DU authority should ensure quality education and a good environment in the classrooms before taking such decisions, they said.
A student in his third year at mass communication and journalism department, seeking anonymity, said, “I intentionally skip some classes only because there are some teachers who fail to make the lessons easily understandable.
“There are even some who say things to torture the students mentally. As a student at university level, none should force me to attend classes through fear of fines.”
Students should be included in the academic council to voice their problems and concerns in both academic and non-academic activities concerning the university's major decisions to create a democratic atmosphere, they said.
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