Two buildings remain unused since 2006
Two huge buildings of Sylhet Engineering College, located just outside Sylhet city, lie in disuse since its inception in 2006 because of absence of teaching faculty. Only 12 visiting teachers are running one of the three departments while the two other departments do not have any students enrolled. The photo was taken recently. photo: star
Despite having adequate structures and Tk 12 crore worth of laboratory equipment, Sylhet Engineering College (SEC) is struggling to run one department, let alone admit students in the remaining two, due to absence of permanent teachers since its 2006 inauguration.
Around 12 visiting teachers from Shahjalal University of Engineering and Technology, MC College and private universities in Sylhet have been running the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, having a capacity of 60 students.
However, the crisis of teachers had prompted SEC to refrain from enrolling students in the 2010-11 session.
The remaining Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and Department of Civil Engineering, having the same capacity, exist in name only. Two buildings allotted for the departments lie vacant.
The government-run institution does not even have a principal. Its acting principal is Sushanta Kumar Bosu, principal of Sylhet Polytechnic Institute.
In a recent meet with The Daily Star, Sushanta said SEC requires at least 100 permanent teachers and staff to run its three departments.
Students enrolling in SEC have staged demonstrations and submitted memorandums to the finance and education ministries in the past five years to no effect.
A number of educationalists, including Principal Ataur Rahman Pir and ANAA Mahbub Ahmed, told The Daily Star that the appointment might have been stalled as SEC was founded during the previous government's tenure.
Talking to The Daily Star recently, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said the previous government constructed the buildings and procured the equipments but did not create posts for the teaching staff. He said steps were being taken to appoint teachers, which might be possible within this fiscal.
Ending in 2007, the construction of SEC on an eight-acre land surrounded by scenic hillocks in Sylhet city's suburban Baluchar took two years costing Tk 51 crore.
The construction comprised a laboratory, a library, three academic and an administrative building and the principal's, teachers' and staff quarters.
The first batch of 60 students was enrolled in the 2007-08 session, said SEC Registrar Selim Ahmed, adding that that batch passed out successfully and the graduates were working at reputed institutions.
Students were enrolled for the next three years, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2011-12, except for the 2010-11 session. Now SEC has 208 students, including 45 females, he added.
The education ministry has prepared a structure for SEC with 85 posts, including that of the principal, and it would be soon placed before the finance ministry for approval, said Selim.
A meeting has been called at the education ministry on August 4 to discuss the appointment procedures, informed acting principal Sushanta.
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