Classes resume at Dhaka Medical College after 1.5-month shutdown

"The extended suspension [of classes] has caused some academic loss. We are working on how to make up for it,” says DMC Principal Kamrul Alam

Academic activities at Dhaka Medical College (DMC) have resumed after a one-and-a-half-month shutdown over student unrest.

On Saturday, students of all academic years returned to their classes.

Since May 28, students of DMC had been boycotting classes to press home a list of five demands, including the provision of safe housing. As part of the protest, they held a human chain on campus on Jun 21.

Amid the protests, the college authorities issued a notice announcing an indefinite closure of the institution. Students were instructed to vacate the dormitories by 12 noon on Jun 22. However, students declared they would not leave the dorms and would continue their sit-in until their demands were met.

As a result, academic activities at DMC had been suspended for one and a half months.

Mohammad Nafis Rafeed, a student at DMC, said some batches started classes at 8am and others at 9am. He noted that the prolonged class suspension had disrupted their studies.

“Some academic progress has been lost. But we see this as a sacrifice for a greater cause. Our teachers will decide how to make up for the academic shortfall by either rescheduling classes or speeding up the lessons somehow. Normally, we get a one to one-and-a-half-month break before professional exams. That leave might need to be sacrificed. It will depend on the exam schedule.”

Another student, Nazmus Sakib, said: “It feels good to return to class after so long. All of us have fallen a bit behind academically.

“Previously, we used to study for 10 days before exams. Now we’ll have to manage with 6-7 days. There’s no other option.”

On Tuesday, the Academic Council of DMC held an emergency meeting where they decided to resume academic activities. Accordingly, the residential halls were reopened on Friday.

DMC Principal Kamrul Alam said, “All students have returned to class. The extended suspension has caused some academic loss. We are working on how to make up for it.”

On Jun 23, two days after the protests began, a seven-strong student delegation visited the Ministry of Health at the Secretariat, accompanied by Principal Kamrul. Although they were scheduled to meet with the health advisor, they instead met with Prof Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief advisor.

After the meeting, Abdullah Al Noman, a student from the K-79 batch of DMC, told reporters the discussion had been fruitful.

“We needed a detailed discussion with the ministry, and that happened. The special assistant to the chief advisor listened to us attentively. However, we didn’t receive any clear directives regarding the next steps."

“They asked us to wait for the budget implementation and arrangements for alternative housing. We were told we would be informed later. We're waiting for everything, but we still don’t have clear instructions on what will happen next. That’s why we weren’t returning to class. But we want a quick resolution so that our academic activities aren’t disrupted. We want to return to class.”

The next day, students confirmed they would not return to classes. From that day on, the college's academic activities and dormitories remained closed.

The students’ demands include:

1. Immediate budget approval for constructing new male and female dormitories.

2. Ensuring alternative housing until construction is completed.

3. Separate budget approval for a new academic building.

4. Separate and expedited implementation of the housing and academic building budgets.

5. Appointment of a student representative to transparently present all project and progress updates to the students.