Admission seekers left stranded

About 3.08 lakh admission seekers, divided under 10 units, are likely to sit for the Jahangirnagar University (JU) admission tests, scheduled to be held in five shifts per day from November 9 to 21.

Preceding the Covid-19 outbreak, JU's halls welcomed thousands of admission seekers from all over the country, particularly students from low-income families. Presently, their futures hang on the balance due to the authority's decision to refuse accommodation to them.

Rubaiyat Jahan Monisha, a candidate for admission from Netrakona Government College, had applied to sit for four out of the 10 units.

Since the administration imposed a ban on any applicants residing in the campus to curb Covid infections among residential students, she couldn't manage any accommodation, even though she had a relative staying at the dormitories.

Due to lack of appropriate housing, she scrapped her plan to attend all four exams and settled for appearing in just one unit.

"It's uncertain if I can attend all the tests. I don't know what I should do now,' she said, expressing her frustration.

Tanvir Shuvo, a candidate from the southern-most corner of Khulna district, said he too decided to attend only one unit, even though he had applied for three.

'I've managed a hotel room in Savar at a high price (Tk 1,200 per day) and my family cannot bear the cost of spending seven nights here," he added.

Nilufa Yesmin, the guardian of an admission seeker from Joypurhat, told The Daily Star that she's yet to find suitable housing for her daughter.

"At this point, it's uncertain how we will manage," she added.

Another guardian from Kurigram complained, "I failed to rent a room near the university campus and I'm yet to find a way for my daughter to attend the admission test."

Rahima Kaneez, JU's acting registrar, said, "We've reduced the examination duration and broadened the inter-shift duration so that candidates can attend them maintaining adequate safety measures."

Admission seekers have been protesting the authorities' decision, stating that they should have made arrangements to reduce their sufferings.

JU houses eight residential halls for men and women respectively.  All of them can accommodate a total of 8,000 students at regular times.

Sagar Siddiki, Secretary of Kurigram Students' Welfare Association, said, "Around 70 students and guardians contacted me to arrange accommodations. I had nothing to say except 'I'm sorry'."

The majority of these students come from low-income families, some of whom will be unable to sit for the tests as a result.

General Secretary of JU Gopalganj District Students' Welfare Association, Bikash Mallik, echoed the same concern.

The central problem is that the number of private dorms or hotels in Savar region is inadequate.

Savar Municipality mayor, Abdul Gani said, "There are only two residential hotels in Savar and they lack the capacity to accommodate so many students."

'This is the result of authority's indifference. If they had the least concern in this regard, they would seek other alternatives," said Professor of Economics at JU, Anu Muhammad.

The authorities could have followed in the footsteps of Dhaka University and decentralised the admission test or merged the 10 units into three or four units, he argued.

"The university could use the auditorium, hall room or gymnasium to accommodate the candidates ensuring proper hygiene. Otherwise, countless candidates, especially female students, will suffer," he added.

Meanwhile, the university unit of Samajtantrik Chhatra Front and Chhatra Union in separate statements demanded proper management regarding the accommodation of admission seekers before holding any test.

Prof. Md Muzibur Rahman, president of the JU hall provost committee, said, 'We can only provide additional transportation services to bring candidates from nearby areas to minimise their sufferings.'

Earlier, education minister Dipu Moni warned that educational institutions will be shut down again, if the infection rate rises. Contamination rates have skyrocketed in India and it has triggered fear within the administration.

"We don't want to shut down the campus again," he added.

He informed that the administration only granted accommodation to regular students who've received at least one shot of vaccine. "Allowing unknown people to remain in the halls during the pandemic would be hazardous. We made the decision keeping the wellbeing of our students in mind," he said.