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CU students pay dearly for politics

Lose 151 days of study in 2 years

Arun Bikash Dey and Shahadat Hossain, Ctg
Frequent clashes among political party backed student organisations on Chittagong University campus has led to suspension of academic activities of20,000 students for 151 days in the last two years.
On February 9 this year, the CU authorities suspended classes and examinations for 22 days following a clash between ruling Awami League backed Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Jamaat-e-Islami backed Islami Chhatra Shibir that left two students dead.
On February 29, the university authorities extended the suspension for 15
more days.
According to CU administration sources, academic activities were suspended for 33 days last year; and for 82 days in 2010 due to political violence on the campus.
Clashes involving BCL, Shibir, BNP backed Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), and some other student organisations resulted in a number of killings on the campus.
Since the establishment of the university in 1966, a total of 16 students were killed in clashes over establishing political and organisational supremacy on the campus, said the sources. "Unscheduled closures of academic activities badly affect students and their families, as it wastes valuable time," said Dr ANM Munir Ahmad, a political science teacher at the university.
"Most students in public universities come from low, middle income, or even economically insolvent families," he said.
"The university authorities should handle the incidents of political violence on the campus more skillfully," said Dr Munir, also a member of the university senate.
"Respect for other political ideologies can change the culture of violent politics on the campus," he added.
Activists of student organisations often get into clashes due to lack of proper leadership, said Dr Mozaffar Ahmad Chowdhury, president of CU Teachers' Association (CUTA).
"If the central students'
union was made effective that could create the leadership," he added.
Seasoned academics said a lack of respect of students for their teachers, declining cultural activities on the campus, and politicians' self-serving desires play important roles in making space for violent politics on the campus.
"Political parties are using student organisations to achieve their narrow political agenda on the campus," said Dr Mainul Islam, an economics teacher atCU.
Politicians are not showing the leaders of student organisations the right path, said Dr Sikander Khan, vice chancellor of East Delta University (EDU) in Chittagong also a former teacherandaproctoratCU.
In the early 1970s whenever the teachers forbade the students to do something they used to obey it, he said
adding, "That relationship between teachers and students has been worsening."
"The teachers are failing to keep their students involved in academic activities due to a lack of their moral strength as well, as many of them are negligent in doing their regular duties like going to the classes regularly and doing researches," said Sikander Khan.
Prof Anwarul Azim Arif, vice chancellor of CU, said, "The university authorities are holding talks with the student organisations to avoid further untoward incidents on the campus."
Mamunul Haque, CU unit president of BCL, said, "Islami Chhatra Shibir began violent activities on the campus in 1986. Now they are trying to foil the trial of war criminals by creating unrest on the campus again."
Badiul Alam, CU unit president of Shibir, blamed
the authorities of the university for their failure to handle previous incidents of violence.
"If exemplary punishments were meted out to the criminals of previous killings, the incidents would not be repeated," he said.
Several probe committees were formed after incidents of killings, but no probe report has been published yet, said the sources.
"As an autonomous body, the university can take decisions as per recommendations of the probe reports without making those public," said AHM Selim Ullah, assistant proctor at CU.
The immediate past proctor of CU, Dr Nasim Hasan, said, "The university authorities take actions according to the university ordinance for small clashes while actions are taken as per the country's general laws in cases of big incidents."