Leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League have received a few crore taka brokering illegal admission of freshmen to government colleges in the capital.
They obtained the money mainly from students on the waiting lists and the ones who failed to qualify in the freshmen admission tests.
The admission tests for the first-year honours programmes of colleges started early last month and will end within a few' days.
According to Chhatra League leaders directly involved in this, known as "political admission", at different government colleges, they are taking Tk 20,000 to Tk 1 lakh for each admission as carrots depending on the faculty and the college's reputation. Dhaka College and Eden College top the list of institutions where political admissions are going on.
Chhatra League leaders carry out such illegal admission business with the connivance of a section of teachers, officials and employees of the colleges, sources in the institutions say.
If any college official refuses to comply with Chhatra League leaders' instructions, they are threatened with transfers, according to college sources.
They said Chhatra League leaders, student wing of the ruling Awami league (AL), of Dhaka College unit persuaded the college authorities to take at least 400 "poorly qualified" freshmen in.
The same thing is going on in many government colleges in the capital as well as in different districts of the country
Eden College, Govt Kabi Nazrul College, Govt Bangla College in Mirpur, Govt Titumir College, Badrunnesa College, Teachers' Training College and Govt Shaheed Suhrawardy College are all in the grip of Chhatra League leaders, sources said.
During the last BNP-Jamaat alliance rule, leaders of their student wing--Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir-were also involved in similar practices.
In Dhaka College, Chhatra League leaders halted the admission process a few weeks ago as the college authorities started admission independent of the Chhatra League leaders' so-called business. The college authorities had to negotiate with the student leaders and reach a consensus to restart admission process, sources said.
A couple of weeks ago, Eden College unit Chhatra League leaders had kept their principal confined to the college office for about three hours to force the authorities take in 50 students on the waiting list under "political admission".
Sources said students who failed to qualify in the freshmen admission test or are way down the waiting list can easily get enrolled in colleges paying the Chhatra League leaders.
Moreover, students who qualified for a department but want to move to a better one can also pay the leaders and move up the list.
Talking to The Daily Star a number of Chhatra League leaders said they arc engaged in this to oblige senior leaders and influential persons, including members of parliament, with their requests.
"We are political workers and we have to carry out their requests," said a Dhaka College unit Chhatra League leader preferring not to be named. He, however, did not answer when asked if the senior leaders asked them to take money from the admissionseekers.
In Dhaka, Kabi Nazrul and Eden colleges, the top two Chhatra League posts holders are doing this "business of political admission" while a general secretary and a president of Chhatra League units of Shaheed Suhrawardi College and Badrunnesa College are also doing.
Lawmaker Fazle Noor Tapash told The Daily Star, "I'll take stern actions against them [Chhatra League leaders] if proof is found of their involvement in such practices."
Chhatra League General Secretary Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Roton told The Daily Star that they have not received any allegation from any quarters regarding this. "If we receive such information, we will launch an investigation and take action accordingly," he added.