Students Demand Ordinance for ‘Dhaka Central University’ in Road Protest
Students have taken position in front of the Education Building, demanding the final issuance of the ordinance for the proposed 'Dhaka Central University', which would merge the capital's 7 government colleges.
On Monday morning, several hundred students from the seven colleges began demonstrating by occupying the road adjacent to the Education Building. They said they would not leave the road until steps are taken to issue the ordinance.
Meanwhile, in anticipation of the demonstration, police blocked the road with barricades in the afternoon on the way to the Secretariat.
In 2017, seven major government colleges in Dhaka were affiliated with the University of Dhaka (DU), having previously been under the National University. These colleges are: Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Begum Badrunnesa Mohila College, Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Kabi Nazrul College, Government Bangla College, and Titumir College.
Amid various complications, in January of this year, the authorities announced the decision to separate these colleges from DU. However, the affiliation was canceled before finalizing a new university structure, which further complicated the situation. Currently, the principal of Dhaka College has been appointed as administrator to oversee the interim management of these colleges.
The government plans to establish a new university by merging these colleges. A committee, headed by the Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), has proposed a framework for the new university after discussions with stakeholders. The interim government has taken steps to issue the university law in the form of an ordinance.
A draft of the ordinance was prepared by a committee led by UGC member Professor Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan. On September 24, the Ministry of Education published the draft ordinance to collect opinions from stakeholders regarding the proposed administrative and academic structure.
