Students demand Dhaka University reopen residential halls within Mar 1

The students of Dhaka University have demanded that the authorities reopen halls of residence within Mar 1, despite the government's decision to resume classes in May.

They gave the university authorities 72 hours to meet their demands from a rally at the altar of Raju Sculpture on Monday.

All educational institutions, including universities, were shut down on Mar 17 last year after the coronavirus outbreak in Bangladesh. Classes resumed online on a limited scale but the residential halls remained closed.

The students have long demanded the reopening of the halls due to the accommodation problems in Dhaka. The university is running all activities, but have kept the halls shut, according to the disgruntled students.

Education Minister Dipu Moni announced that classes of all universities will resume on May 24 while the halls will reopen on May 17 after a year of shutdown.

"Students will return to brick-and-mortar classrooms after the Eid-ul-Fitr," she said.

But Junayed Hossain Khan, a representative of the protesters, dismissed the education minister's announcement. 

"We have already been caught in a one-year session jam due to the pandemic. We want to go back to the halls within March 1 to avoid further delay," he argued.

"COVID-19 situation is under control now, everything is going on. There is no reason to keep education institutions shut anymore."

A group of five representatives of the protesters submitted a memorandum to the vice-chancellor of the university afterwards.

"The university authorities will discuss the demands issued by the students at 10:30am on Tuesday," Vice-Chancellor Md Akhtaruzzaman said after a meeting with the students.