DUCSU tenure nears end, many promises pending

The current Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) committee is nearing the end of its tenure, with its term set to expire on September 12, 2026.

Elected in September 2025, the committee came to office with a 36-point manifesto promising reforms in student accommodation, food quality, healthcare, transport, campus security, women’s safety, research and student welfare.

During its tenure, the committee claimed to have undertaken 225 initiatives across 33 sectors.

Among its notable activities were providing legal assistance to students facing cyber-harassment and related disputes, pushing for evening bus services for non-residential students and organising career, research and skills-development programmes.

The committee also claimed credit for several infrastructure-related initiatives.

The university allocated Tk5.5 crore for renovation of old dormitories considered vulnerable to earthquakes, while Tk50 lakh was allocated for renovation of the Central Mosque. DUCSU also pushed for improvements to medical services and other student facilities.

However, several major promises remain unfulfilled as the committee approaches the end of its term. Student accommodation remains a major challenge, with overcrowding and inadequate residential facilities continuing to affect students.

The union’s pledge to ensure better-quality and hygienic food in residential halls has also not been fully realised.

Commitments relating to women’s safety, campus security and student welfare have similarly seen limited progress. Plans for stronger mechanisms to address sexual harassment, improved security and other campus reforms remain incomplete.

Several of the committee’s proposed structural reforms also depend on approval, funding and implementation by the university administration. This has limited DUCSU’s ability to directly implement some of its larger promises.

The committee’s performance has therefore produced a mixed record. While it has undertaken a number of visible initiatives in student welfare, legal support, transport and infrastructure advocacy, some of the most pressing issues facing Dhaka University students-particularly accommodation, food quality, safety and broader administrative reforms-remain unresolved.

With the tenure set to end on September 12, the remaining weeks will determine how much of its unfinished agenda the current committee can advance before handing over to a new leadership.