Session jam, lack of teachers and facility make fate of over 350 students uncertain
Session jam, teacher crisis, irregular classes and hence poor results have put at stake the future of 365 BSc course students of Chittagong Nursing College.
Established in 2007, the college is yet to produce its first batch of graduates.
As for the academic progress, only six out of 51 students of the second batch (session 2008-09) came out successful in the second-year mid-term exams, according to the results published on February 16.
This also plagued the third and fourth batches. Only 18 of 77 students of the third batch (session 2009-10) passed the first-year final exams while all the 88 students of the fourth batch (session 2010-11) failed in the first-year mid-term exams, said students.
The first batch (session 2007-08) is still languishing in the third year with the second and third batches in the second year and the fourth and fifth batches in the first-year sessions. The fifth batch (session 2011-12) started classes in February this year.
According to students, inadequate number of teachers, holding exams without completing the courses, and lack of lab and library facilities are the main reasons behind the horrible results.
A second-year student, preferring anonymity, said their first-year course took two and a half years to finish.
“We got admitted to the college on December 27, 2008. Our first-year final examination was held in September 2010 and the results came out in May 2011,” said the student.
Another student of the second batch who failed in the first-year final exams, said most of the students of the college, including herself, had done well, secured at least GPA-4, in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams.
“But most of them failed in their yearly exams in the nursing college. According to teachers, the students are to be blamed for this,” she said, asking, “What choice do we have now, two and a half years after passing the HSC?”
She feared her studentship might get cancelled.
“We are allowed to sit for the supplementary examination twice. But a medical student can keep his or her studentship for up to 14 years, while the pass mark is the same, 60 percent, for both the groups,” she said.
College sources said around 90 percent students of the college are female.
“We have only 15 teachers and many of them are not regular in classes. As far as the routine is concerned, we have five classes every day, but most of the time we get three,” said a student of the first batch.
“The first batch of Rajshahi Nursing College, who started their session the same time we had, in 2007, is going to sit for the fourth-year final examination in three months, but we are still waiting for the third-year mid-term exam,” he added.
He said the students had observed a sit-in on the campus in last October demanding easing of session jam, timely exams, publishing of results in one and a half months after the exams, and money receipts when the fees are paid.
Representatives of the Directorate of Nursing Services (DNS) had signed and acknowledged the demands but to no effect, he added.
Kazi Mustafa Sarwar, the outgoing director of DNS, said he had talked with the principal about the problems in Chittagong Nursing College.
“The demands of the students are fair. I will talk to the new DNS director about the matter. I hope the problems will be solved soon,” he said.
Hosne Ara Begum, principal of the college, said she had joined the institution just three months ago.
For the poor results, she mainly blamed students’ weakness in English, inadequate attention to study, and a lack of quality teachers.
“I am trying to resolve the problem of session jam,” she said, adding that the college was also suffering from problems like shortage of manpower and fund.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
