Administrative absence freezes education in universities amid political chaos

Students and teachers fear extended session delays after a month of halted academic activities

Public universities in Bangladesh find themselves without administration, as officials appointed during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure have been forced out much like her.

Even a week after reopening, universities are still dealing with demands for the resignation of teachers, leading to idle campuses with no classes or exams.

Wahiduddin Mahmud, the education advisor, agrees that the situation will not improve unless teachers resume their academic and administrative duties.

In response to a question, he told bdnews24.com: "The positions of vice chancellors and pro-vice chancellors are still vacant. Efforts are under way to fill these positions. This will happen very soon."

On Jul 16, all educational institutions were closed indefinitely due to violence related to the quota reform movement.

The halls were evacuated amid clashes between students and police the following day.

Although campuses reopened on Aug 6, the regular educational activities have yet to resume.

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus directed on Aug 18 for the restoration of regular educational activities across all institutions.

Earlier, educational activities had been suspended from Jul 1 due to a strike by university teachers protesting the ‘Prottoy’ universal pension scheme.

Universities are experiencing administrative voids, while protests are ongoing against some administrative officials and teachers.

Both teachers and students are concerned about a prolonged session jam due to over a month of halted academic activities.

Regarding the ongoing student protests despite many resignations from administrative positions, the education adviser said, "We are trying to tell students that there will be no use of force in educational institutions."

"Especially in universities, it is completely unacceptable to harass anyone based on party affiliation or identity. If this continues, the environment will never improve."

"We are making efforts and calling on active students and university teachers to work towards resolving the situation. We are maintaining communication with them," he added.

Out of nearly fifty public universities in the country, at least 42 have vacant positions for Vice-Chancellors and other key roles.

This lack of administration is affecting classes and exams, a situation also observed in other private colleges and secondary schools.

DU WITHOUT ADMINISTRATION

The transition of power has left Dhaka University without its VC, Proctor, Hall Provosts, and Deans.

Despite Yunus’s directive for educational institutions to resume normal activities, students at Dhaka University have not returned to classes.

They have demanded the resignation of teachers who they believe supported repression during the protests.

Many students are conducting ‘clean-up drives’ at the administrative building and various faculties.

Though the VC has resigned, Muhammad Samad, acting VC (Administration) and Sitesh Chandra Bachar, acting VC (Education) remain in their positions.

Sitesh said, “It will take a long time to repair the damaged relationship between teachers and students. Teachers are traumatized.”

He mentioned recent incidents such as students protesting at the dean’s residence and throwing shoes at photographs of two teachers from the management department.

“The university lacks a vice-chancellor and proctor. The proctor could have provided counselling. I am not in a position to make an impact.”

“Any specific complaints against teachers should be formally submitted to the university administration. However, harassing teachers in this manner is not appropriate,” he added.

Md Akhtaruzzaman, former VC and Md Lutfor Rahman, the convenor of the while panel, a pro-BNP teachers association, stressed the need for swift appointments to administrative positions to resolve the issues.

Akhtaruzzaman said, “Everyone is in an uncomfortable situation. We need to move past this. Teachers and students are complementary to each other. There should be no room for division here.”

“I believe that once a vice-chancellor is appointed and normal academic activities resume, the relationship between teachers and students will normalise.”

"The sooner the vacant administrative positions are filled, the quicker the issues will be resolved. With an administration in place, students' demands can be handled effectively,” he added.

RU STUDENTS AND FACULTY WANT TO RESUME CLASSES

At least 78 officials at Rajshahi University, including the vice-chancellor, two pro-vice-chancellors, public relations administrator, proctor, and all proctorial body members, student advisor, hall provosts, and residential teachers, have resigned.

Despite a government directive to resume educational activities from Sunday, no significant steps have been taken, leading to a standstill in academic and administrative functions.

Students started staying in the halls on Aug 6. Officials said, as of Wednesday, 2,290 students are residing in 17 of the university's residential halls.

As situations improve, students are eager to return to classes.

Monirul Islam, a student from the mass communication and journalism department's 2020-21 session, told bdnews24.com: “We were already facing session jams due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The teachers' strike and the quota reform movement have further delayed us.”

“We were in the middle of our semester final exams. We are suffering and want to return to classes and exams as soon as possible.”

Registrar Tariqul Hasan said, “Currently, there is no vice-chancellor at the university, and no acting official has been appointed. We must wait for further instructions regarding the educational activities.”

“The syndicate's decisions are crucial, and without a vice-chancellor, a syndicate meeting is not possible at the moment,” he added.

NO DECISION-MAKERS AT CU

Two days after the government’s fall, an emergency syndicate meeting at Chittagong University decided to allocate seats in the hall from Aug 17 and resume all academic activities from Aug 19.

However, the vice-chancellor, two pro-vice-chancellors, the proctorial body, and all residential hall provosts resigned on Aug 10, 12, and 13, leaving all administrative positions vacant.

The university has been unable to resume academic activities due to the lack of administration.

According to the 1973 ordinance of the university, the syndicate’s decision is required to resume academic activities, but only the VC has the authority to call a Syndicate meeting.

Administrative functions are also disrupted.

In response to general student demands, shuttle services started on Aug 19. However, decisions regarding academic activities and seat allocations in halls are still pending.

SAFETY CONCERNS AT JU

On Aug 18, a female student at Jahangirnagar University was harassed.

When her classmates went to the proctor’s office to file a complaint, they found no one available to handle the issue due to the resignation of the entire proctorial body.

VC Nurul Alam, resigned on Aug 7, followed by the resignation of two pro-vice-chancellors, the treasurer, the registrar, the proctorial body, and several hall provosts.

As a result, many departments at the university did not hold classes last week due to security concerns.

However, classes resumed on Sunday, with students participating willingly.

The absence of key administrative positions has caused complications in other administrative tasks.

Maliha Namlah, a student of journalism and media studies, said: "Without higher authority, it’s difficult to complete many tasks. Applications for certificates, transcripts, and name corrections from one or two months ago are still unresolved, and these issues can't be handled without a vice-chancellor."

Temporary and outsourced staff have also not received their salaries due to the lack of a VC.

Teachers stress the need for prompt appointments to critical positions to restore a normal academic environment at the university.

SHAHJALAL STUDENTS FEAR SESSION JAM

As many as 9,000 students are fearing a session jam as academic and administrative activities are at a standstill at the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.

Sanjida Asha, a student of the university’s sociology department told bdnews24.com: “We were supposed to start a new semester by now. But the uprising began after the summer and Eid holidays. We have lost over three months of our lives.”

“Due to these reasons, students will not be able to graduate on time or apply for jobs. Those who have applied abroad will also lose a semester. The coronavirus pandemic also took away one and a half years of our lives. A lot of time was also lost due to the sudden floods in Sylhet.”

Mokhlisur Rahman Parvez, the university’s deputy controller of examinations said: “All academic and administrative activities are halted due to the ultimatum given by the students. However, the students have agreed to keep the examination control office open from 11am to 1pm every day in light of various urgencies.”

The official believes that the academic and administrative work will not return to normal unless a vice-chancellor is appointed soon.

Prof Md Al Amin, a teacher of the university’s sociology department has urged the interim government to make quick appointments for the empty administrative posts at SUST.

“Any type of revolution creates a session jam in universities. But if the teachers complete the semester by taking classes, tests and practical exams based on the feedback of the students, then it is possible to avert the jam.”

TREASURER SHOULDERS THE BURDEN AT JNU

Vice-chancellors, registrars, proctorial bodies, administrators, transport administrators and other administrative officials of Jagannath University have resigned from their posts amid various demands set forth by the students.

Now, Prof Humayun Kabir Chowdhury, the university’s treasurer, is independently appointing the acting registrar, reshuffling departmental chairs, and performing the duties of the vice-chancellor, which many teachers and students are deeming ‘irregular’.

Although the protests demanding the resignation of the vice-chancellor and administrative officials have been fruitful, the students are now demanding the construction of a new campus under the supervision of the army, elections for the JnU Students' Union, an exit from the cluster system, increasing the quality of canteen food, cancellation of illegal recruitment, and the cancellation of admission under ward quotas.

The students are also demanding the punishment of teachers who boycotted classes and supported the attacks on the students by the Chhatra League and police during the quota reform protests.

As a result, although the campus has re-opened, the departments are not being able to resume educational activities in full swing.

However, other students are demanding that academic activities should resume as soon as possible to avert a session jam.

Nasir Uddin, an associate professor of the English department, said the deadlock would be resolved by appointing a vice-chancellor as soon as possible.

He told bdnews24.com: “In addition to considering qualifications, skills and experience, they should also prioritise who the teachers and students want as vice-chancellor.”