Unusual session jam has forced thousands of National University (NU) students to sacrifice up to four years. Failure of university authorities in managing the situation has also frustrated students, who are now gravely worried about their future.
NU, which offers affiliation to 1,778 colleges, is now burdened with the huge task of looking after 11 lakh students, a task which proves to be a huge, unmanageable task with every day. According to investigation carried out by The Independent, NU authorities seem have failed on several counts – purchasing papers on time for answer scripts, timely printing and distributing question papers, evaluation of answer-sheets, and publication of results. Besides, some teachers of colleges under the NU said the authorities conduct examinations without ensuring the colleges have completed the syllabus. In many cases, syllabus could not be completed within the stipulated time-frame, due to shortage of teachers and classrooms.
“I’m sure the university has no ability to hold any exam in the next two months, as a section of profit-mongering higher-ups is playing game with the decision to purchase papers and making answercripts. Besides, nearly 1,200 teachers, who are involved in exam process, are fighting for their jobs, as the higher court has declared their jobs as illegal,” an official supervising answercripts and question papers said on Friday.
“It was 2003 when I got admission in the four-year bachelors’ degree in management and I had to wait till 2010 to complete my course and I have just completed my masters. I’m sure I’ll have to wait till 2012 for the results,” said Mukta Jahan, a student of Government Eden College under the NU. “Due to failure of the authorities, I needed to loss four years to complete my higher study. In contrast, my cousin who got admission, simultaneously, in Dhaka University, entered into a job three years ago, after completing his courses,” she added.
“I got admission in 2009, but I’m still a first-year student. The authorities failed to hold our first-year final exam and give me a chance to graduate to the second year. I’ve already lost more than one year, it’s frustrating,” Laily Begum, a student of the Government Badrunnesa College in Dhaka, said on Thursday. “One of my teachers told me yesterday that it’s uncertain when my exam will be held. The authorities announced and deferred my exam for the third time on Wednesday,” she rued, adding, “It was scheduled to start from September 13”.
NU pro-vice chancellor and in-charge of monitoring of all exams Prof. Tofail Ahmad Chowdhury said, “paper supply issues have delayed preparing the answer sheets and it was the reason for deferment of the exams. A fresh schedule will be announced soon after the opening of university on September 11.”
“Necessary steps have been taken to print and distribute question papers timely. However, the teachers who are assigned to evaluate answer sheets still take a long time to finish the job and it is also a reason behind delay in publishing results on time,” he claimed. Vice-chancellor Prof. Kazi Shahidullah never talks with the press about any crises in the university.
Prof. Khan Habibur Rahman, principal of the Government Suhrwardi College in Dhaka, said, “Establishment of separate examination centres at district headquarters is urgently needed. It’ll help students to attend more classes to complete the syllabus, and examinations could be organised on time.”Replying to a query, principal Mohammad Mazharul Hannan, former academic council member of the NU and also the president of the Bangladesh College Principals’ Council, said, “The institution is overburdened with its tasks. Instead of improving the situation, university higher-ups are busy with hiring and firing staff, since they got the job in 2009”.
“If there’s a huge purchase of exam equipment, it should be transparent,” he said.
Md Nurul Ami, a deputy registrar and also leader of employees’ association of the NU, said that they are engaged in fighting with their jobs, instead of working to hold the exams. “Recently, a higher court has declared recruitment of nearly 1,200 teachers and employees as illegal. Who’ll take the exam if we’re not in the jobs?” he said.
“There’s acute shortage of teachers in the public colleges that offer bachelor’s and master’s courses under the NU. Out of 14,500 posts in 271 public colleges and equivalent institutions, nearly 4,000 are still vacant,” said Prof. Fahima Khatun, president of the Bangladesh Civil Service General Education Association.
Courtesy of The Independent
