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Embattled City College wages brave struggle

Pranabesh Chakraborty
Over 14,000 students of Government City College face uncertainty following inadequate number of teachers and shortage of classrooms as well as infrastructure.
Twenty-five posts of teachers, including vice principal, are lying vacant in the college, hampering academic activities. A total of 103 teachers are present against 128 sanctioned posts where 153 teachers are needed according to National University rule. The Government City College, one of the traditional educational institutes in the port city as well as across the country, is located at Ice Factory Road under Kotwali Police Station. The college started its journey in July 1954 as Chittagong Night College with arts and commerce subjects for intermediate students on the premises of Chittagong Municipal High School.
Later, the campus was shifted to Kajem Ali High School in August the same year as the number of students was increasing day by day. The college introduced the day shift in 1957. The college was renamed as Chittagong City College in July 1962 and was shifted to Ice Factory Road in the New Market area. The institution introduced degree course in 1965 and honours and masters courses from the 1972-73 sessions.
The college now offers honours courses in 15 subjects and masters in 12 under different disciplines, apart from HSC and degree courses.
Principal Harishankar Jaladas told The Daily Star that there are 103 teachers for over 14,000 students that are too inadequate to complete the curriculum and syllabus, hampering quality of education.
A total of 25 posts of teachers are lying vacant in the college for over a year. The vacant posts include four professors, four associate professors, six assistant professors, and 11 lecturers. Three posts of demonstrators, out of six, in the science departments are also lying vacant for the last few years.
Dipa Mojumder, a third year student of Bangla department, told the Daily Star that students of other classes wait outside of the classrooms when one class is going on, hampering the atmosphere of the classes. She said no classes are held when examinations of different sessions are held due to shortage of
classrooms.
Only two classrooms are allocated for the students of six sessions in a department, Principal Harisankar said, adding that class of only two sessions is held a day depriving four other sessions of classes. He said when classes of two sessions are held students of other four
sessions wait outside the classrooms, as they have no common room.
Assistant Prof Mohammad Jahirul Haque Swapan said the problem can be solved if government builds a new building on the campus. He said there is no playground for the students which affects the cultural activities of
the institution.
Prof Harishankar said the caretaker government had approved two academic buildings for the college and allocated land in this regard. But, for lack of initiative by the government and the authorities concerned, the work is not progressing well, he said.