During the exam period, at around 1am, a residential student of Dhaka University’s Shamsun Nahar Hall suddenly fell seriously ill in her room.
Her roommates became concerned after learning about her condition. Later, with the help of two hall employees, she was taken by ambulance to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
After receiving treatment, the student returned to the hall the following day. According to her, she was not allowed to stay in the hall after returning and was advised to sit for her exams from the home of a local guardian.
The incident raises questions about how sick students in residential halls are provided medical care during emergencies at night, whether basic treatment and emergency equipment are available in the halls, and how prepared the university is before a student reaches the central medical centre.
Similar questions were raised after the death of Asma Akter Liza, a student of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall, in August 2025.
Liza died in hospital on August 15 after falling ill. Following her death, students alleged that there were shortages of emergency medical equipment, stretchers and immediate medical support in the hall.
The university administration subsequently promised to improve its healthcare services. It also said a fact-finding committee had been formed to investigate allegations of negligence against doctors at the medical centre and that steps had been taken to recruit new doctors.
But a year later, questions remain about how far those initiatives have reached the residential halls.
Changes at the medical centre
There have been changes in the university’s central healthcare system since Liza’s death.
On August 20, 2025, the University of Dhaka and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) signed a memorandum of understanding. Under the agreement, the medical centre was to be renovated and equipped with modern medical equipment, along with the provision of a modern ambulance.
The renovated medical centre was inaugurated on February 18, 2026, with support from TİKA. The project included an X-ray machine, ECG, analyser, microscope, hospital beds and other equipment.
According to current university information, the medical centre provides healthcare services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with 30 doctors working in different shifts. It also has dental, eye and X-ray units, isolation facilities and a small operation theatre.
However, improvements to the central medical centre do not necessarily address emergency response capacity inside the residential halls.
When a student falls seriously ill at 1am, the first few minutes can determine how quickly she receives medical attention. Who will assist her? How will she be taken out of the hall? Where is a stretcher or wheelchair available? How long will it take for an ambulance to arrive?
At Shamsun Nahar Hall, a sick room, some emergency medicines and a wheelchair have currently been arranged through an initiative of the hall parliament, according to hall parliament members.
They also said that in cases of serious illness at night, students are taken to hospital with the help of the provost and floor teachers.
Ruqayyah Hall resident student Nazifa Tasnim said: “We have first-aid supplies in our hall, but there is no sickroom. I have never heard of a sickroom in our hall. As far as I know, Sufia Kamal Hall has a sickroom.”
The situation, however, is not the same in all halls.
Ashura Khatun, a resident student of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall, said: “We do not have a sick room or a sick boy (a designated contact in case of health emergencies) in our hall. Although there is a doctor, the doctor does not have enough medical equipment.”
According to her, when someone falls ill at night, the floor teacher is informed first and an ambulance is arranged if necessary. However, she claimed that floor teachers do not always answer their phones.
Abrar Harun, a student of Muktijoddha Ziaur Rahman Hall, said: “I know about the sick boy. He can be reached by phone when needed. But there is no sick room in the hall. In emergencies, sick students are taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital or Mortaza Medical Centre.”
Sabbirul Islam, a student of Sergeant Zahurul Haq Hall, said: “There is no sick room in our hall. If a student suddenly falls ill, they are generally taken to Mortaza Medical Centre or Dhaka Medical College Hospital.”
He also said that although he knew there was a “sick boy” in the hall, he did not know the person’s name, identity or phone number.
Similar arrangements are also reported to be in place at Bijoy Ekattor Hall, Kabi Jasimuddin Hall, Surya Sen Hall, Mohsin Hall and Bangabandhu Hall. In these halls, sick boys provide necessary assistance to ill students, but there are no separate sick rooms.
Residential halls have health workers, commonly known as “sick boys”, to assist students when they fall ill. Depending on the hall, one or more health workers are assigned to the role.
Their duties include checking on sick students and delivering necessary food, drinks and medicine to their rooms.
However, it is not clear whether they are trained in emergency medical care or whether they know CPR or basic first aid.
Dr Meherin Parsh, assistant medical officer, said: “The main responsibility of sick boys or hall staff is not to provide medical treatment. However, they need training on how to safely move a patient during an emergency and when to take the patient to a doctor.”
No uniform emergency pathway
When a student becomes seriously ill at 1am, there should be a specific emergency pathway at educational institutions. From providing initial assistance in the room and contacting the responsible person to arranging a stretcher or wheelchair, calling an ambulance, reaching the medical centre, getting necessary medicine and referring the student to a hospital if needed, protocol should dictate who is responsible at each stage.
But under the current system, the process varies from hall to hall.
Some halls have sick rooms, while others do not. Some have wheelchairs, while students in other halls do not even know where such equipment is available. In some halls, health workers can be reached by phone, while in others, students do not know their identity or phone numbers.
In emergency healthcare, the number of ambulances is important, but response time is also crucial.
The university’s current instructions provide 01798762920 as the emergency and ambulance number. The same instructions say students can access ambulances and call services through a call slip from the hall authorities. How long this process takes during an emergency at night is an important question.
On this issue, Meherin Parsh said: “Emergency patients are given priority when requesting an ambulance. We try to send an ambulance as quickly as possible after receiving a call.”
According to university information, emergency medical services are available 24 hours a day, but the medical centre’s pharmacy remains open from 8am to 8pm.
The health card and token section is also open from 8:15am to 8pm.
This means that even if a student receives medical advice after 8pm, she does not have access to medicines from the regular dispensary.
The pharmacy at the university’s club premises also remains open until 8pm, students said.
As a result, students have to go to pharmacies outside the residential halls to obtain medicines.
Night-time access for female students
After Liza’s death, questions were also raised about emergency healthcare and students’ ability to leave the women’s halls at night.
Currently, the instructions of Kabi Sufia Kamal Hall ask sick students to contact the hall’s medical team, the staff on duty at the gate or the relevant floor teacher.
But if a seriously ill female student needs to be taken to hospital at midnight, it is not clear whether there is a hall-specific protocol stating exactly who will open the gate, whose permission will be required and what the alternative arrangement will be if the person responsible does not answer the phone.
A residential teacher at Kabi Sufia Kamal Hall, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “There is no question of denying any student medical care during an emergency. If necessary, the student is taken to hospital in coordination with the responsible teacher, hall authorities and the student’s guardian.”
Assistant Proctor of Dhaka University Sharmin Kabir said: “The university has taken several steps to improve healthcare services. The medical centre has been modernised, and new equipment and ambulances have been added. The administration is also considering better coordination of emergency services at the hall level.”
A year after Liza’s death, the university’s central medical centre has undergone significant infrastructural changes, including renovation and the addition of medical equipment and an ambulance.
But emergency healthcare arrangements inside the residential halls remain uneven. Some halls have sick rooms and wheelchairs, while others do not have separate sick rooms. There are also differences in the availability of health workers, emergency equipment and access to responsible personnel.
At the same time, university information says emergency services are available 24 hours a day, while the medical centre’s dispensary remains open until 8pm. The university has also said that female doctors are available on call for female students at night.
For students living in the halls, however, the critical question remains what happens between the moment an emergency occurs in a room and the moment the student reaches professional medical care.