Viqarunnisa students block roads in Dhaka to protest against a new shift arrangement

Hundreds of students from Dhaka's prestigious Viqarunnisa Noon School and College have protested against a new two-shift arrangement introduced in the college.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 22 June 2016, 06:09 PM
Updated : 22 June 2016, 07:39 PM

The protesting students blocked Dhaka’s Bailey Road demanded withdrawal of the system, saying it would create several problems including concern for their safety and security.
 
This prompted Principal Sufia Khatun to assure the students that their grievances would be looked into.
 
On Wednesday, when students went to receive their Class XI results, they were informed that the new Class XII regimen would adopt a two-shift arrangement.
 
This led the students to stage a sit-in on the road outside the main campus. They accused the college of imposing an erratic decision without any prior announcement or notice on the issue.
 
The protesting students said the new arrangement would inconvenience a large number of students who come from distant areas. 
 
They said the new arrangement would leave the students with little time to study, besides threatening their safety.
 
Principal Khatun claimed that only a handful of the 1,800 students of the 9 sections of the college had taken part in protest but promised to look into their grievances.
 
She said that the governing body was forced to take the decision because of a shortage of classrooms.
 
Asked if the college would yield to the students' demands, she said that she would not say anything unilaterally and that a final call would be taken on Jul 10 after consultation with the governing body.