Today is the centenary of Dhaka University. On 1 July 1921, Dhaka University became the first university in the region. In a hundred years, the glory of this top school of the country is many. But in the end that glory has faded a lot.
In the beginning, Dhaka University was a pioneer in teaching knowledge, science and social research. Most of the best academics, philosophers, scientists and writers of Bangladesh have studied in this university. The political and intellectual role of Dhaka University in all the mass movements of this country from 1952 to 1990 was outstanding.
Now the assessment of the past and present teachers-students is that the practice of knowledge, research and teaching does not mean the expected improvement of Dhaka University. Rather backward in many cases. Teachers and student politics are now evil due to party tailgating. The number of departments, teachers and students has increased, while the quality has declined. There have been many allegations of irregularities and nepotism in the appointment of teachers.
The crisis in the classrooms of the students of Dhaka University is strong. The housing crisis is strong. Food quality is low. The student wing of the ruling party controls the hall. They have been accused of harassing students for many years. But there is no solution to them, the initiative is not so obvious. However, the cost of studying at Dhaka University is much lower. The university is a place of great hope for the higher education of meritorious students from limited incomes and rural areas.
In the afternoon before the centenary of the University of Dhaka, the current Vice-Chancellor. Akhtaruzzaman told Prothom Alo , “The Dhaka University administration is feeling the urge to intensify knowledge and research. There is no denying that we have a shortage of knowledge to reach the global level. "It is difficult to expect very good basic and practical international quality research results before ensuring the necessary facilities," he said.
Dhaka University does not have any special program on the occasion of the centenary. Due to the Corona situation, the university administration has just organized a discussion meeting online today. Linguist Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury will present the keynote address titled 'Centenary of Dhaka University: Looking Back'. However, the main event of the centenary will be organized in a colorful and lavish manner on November 1. The ceremony will be held at the central playground of the university, where the President and the Chancellor of Dhaka University. The university administration expects Abdul Hamid to be the chief guest.
Though it started its official journey in 1921, the discussion on the establishment of Dhaka University started after the abolition of Partition of Bengal. Dhaka: Professor Muntasir Mamun writes in his book City of Memory Oblivion that Dhaka University was established as a compensation for the abolition of Partition of Bengal. The University of Dhaka developed the Muslim middle class or professional class in East Bengal. East Bengal, East Pakistan and the administration of present day Bangladesh, independent professionals, politicians — most of them are students of Dhaka University.
When Dhaka University started its journey in 1921, there were three faculties - Arts, Science and Law. There were 12 sections — Culture and Bengali, English, Education, History, Arabic and Islamic Studies, Persian and Urdu, Philosophy, Economics and Politics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Law. At the beginning there were 60 teachers and 8 students.
Now the division stands at 64. There are 13 institutes. Now there are 1,992 teachers and 36,017 students. There have been 56 research centers. However, Dhaka University is criticized for not having much research.
The size of Dhaka University has increased in the last two decades. In 2000, the number of departments was 46, now it is 64. At this time the number of teachers has more than doubled. The number of students was 22,000, which is more than 36,000. During this time, various types of courses have been opened in different departments, including evening courses, which are mainly commercial enterprises. Teacher politics, student politics, irregularities in teacher recruitment and nepotism are also the main trends of the last three decades.
Although 'autonomous' according to the law, Dhaka University is mainly run under the control of party politics. The appointment of the Vice-Chancellor is at the discretion of the Government. Loyalists of the pro-government teachers' organization are appointed to various posts in the university. As the Awami League is in power, the teachers of the blue party are now in all the administrative posts. When the BNP-Jamaat alliance was in power, there were white party teachers in the posts. There are strong allegations of opening departments unnecessarily and hiring teachers to make the team heavier.
Some of the teachers of Dhaka University think that the degradation in all respects in Bangladesh in terms of quality is not beyond Dhaka University. However, Dhaka University is still ahead in the country. In the number of research papers and in the global ranking, Dhaka University is on the top in the country. On the contrary, in all cases, when there is a decline, the role of showing the way should be taken by the University of Dhaka. The country now needs to improve the quality of education and research. Dhaka University will have to move forward there.
Hasina Khan, a former teacher and UGC professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at Dhaka University, who recently responded by discovering bacteria that make new types of antibiotics from jute, said, "The beginning of the university was very good, but in the middle, we lost."
This professor thinks that there are high-quality teachers and researchers at Dhaka University. However, it is important to emphasize research. What the university is giving to the world through teaching students is important.
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