Students from 7 colleges protest outside Eden College over harassment, exam retakes

Prof Supriya Bhattacharjee of Eden College has assured them that their seven-point demands will be met

Students from seven affiliate colleges under Dhaka University have blocked the gate of Eden Mohila College in a demonstration to press home a series of demands involving harassment and retaking exams, among other matters.

These students rallied at the Nilkhet intersection around 11 am on Sunday, marched towards Dhaka College and back before taking up positions in front of Eden College.

Threatening to keep the main gate shut, they called on the coordinator of the seven colleges and the principal of Eden College to heed their demands

Later, around 12:30 pm, Prof Supriya Bhattacharjee of Eden College arrived to speak to the protesting students and assured them their demands would be met.

Taslim Chowdhury, a protesting student of Govt Titumir College coordinating the demonstration, said: “Madam has assured us that our demands will be fulfilled. She will speak to the chief coordinator of the seven colleges, Pro-VC of Dhaka University Prof ASM Maksud Kamal on Monday to work out solutions to these issues. Three student representatives will be present there as well.”

Protesters demand that the authorities explain why students of the seven colleges are harassed at the Registrar Building of Dhaka University and ensure that it stops.

They also want authorities to provide opportunities for students to retake exams within a year to improve grades for those who found out they were not promoted.

Other demands included publishing results within three months of the exam's end, assigning a particular authority to handle student complaints, formulating and properly implementing an academic calendar, taking necessary steps to resolve crises involving a lack of teachers and classrooms, and relaxing CGPA conditions.

The DU affiliate colleges are Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Kabi Nazrul Government College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Women's College, Government Bangla College and Government Titumir College.