Government should deal with the affiliated colleges’ issue judiciously

The demand for a fully-fledged autonomous university for the students of seven colleges affiliated to the Dhaka University for their governance appears problematic. Therefore, the issue needs serious attention from the concerned authorities.

The students of the colleges — Begum Badrunnessa Government Girls’ College, Dhaka College, Eden Girls’ College, Government Bangla College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Government Titumir College and Kabi Nazrul Government College — recently blocked the Nilkhet and the Science Laboratory crossing for hours, obstructing traffic movement in a large part of the capital city.

However, the students withdrew the blockade giving an ultimatum to the government to initiate steps for an autonomous university to govern the colleges, an outline of the university in 30 working days and coordination with the University of Dhaka to prevent any delay in academic life.

The National University, set up in 1992, could not cope with more than twenty lakh students. So, a decision was taken in 2014 to put 279 colleges back under old public universities.

In keeping with the decision, the seven colleges were put under the Dhaka University on February 16, 2017.

The move, which many welcomed then, created troubles as Dhaka University, busy with its own students, could not properly run the seven colleges, often prompting students to hold protests.

In 2024, four colleges — Rajshahi Government College, Government City College, Government Women’s College, and New Government Degree College — were put back under the University of Rajshahi and five colleges — Chattogram Government College, Government Haji Muhammad Mohsin College, Sir Ashutosh Government College, Government Commerce College and Satkania Government College — were put back under the Chattogram University.

The issues and the student protests at hand appear to have their origin in the failure of the authorities concerned to improve the institutional structure, administrative problems and the academic affairs of the National University.

The students of the seven colleges now do not want to stay affiliated to Dhaka University.

But if a separate university is to be set up to govern the seven colleges, days may not be very far when students of the four colleges in Rajshahi and the five colleges in Chattogram would demand separate fully-fledged autonomous universities for their administration.

And, this would only compound the matter.
Therefore, the government should make no hurried decision but to do whatever it needs in consultation with stakeholders.

It should, in its own interests, deal with issues that afflict the affiliated colleges and improve the National University.