A group of students from Dhaka University organized a protest rally in front of the Vice-Chancellor's residence on Friday afternoon, demanding the cancellation of the affiliation of seven colleges and the construction of a new hall for female students.
This announcement was made during a protest rally held at 4pm.
The protesters emphasized that both the university and the students from the affiliated colleges do not support the affiliation.
They issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the university administration, warning of escalated actions—including class and exam boycotts and locking administrative buildings—if their demands are not met.
The protesting students said that they first campaigned for the cancellation of the affiliation with the seven colleges in 2019.
However, the then vice-chancellor Professor Akhtaruzzaman and the Sheikh Hasina government did not accept their demand.
Now, even when students of the seven affiliated colleges want to be separated, they questioned why the affiliation still remains.
They further pointed out that there aren’t enough seats in the dormitories for female students at DU, yet the administration is considering constructing a separate building for the seven colleges.
Raihan Ferdous, co-coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said that students from both Dhaka University and the seven colleges want the removal of the affiliation.
He also noted that 53% of Dhaka University's students are female, yet they only have five residential halls. He questioned how new administrative buildings could be constructed for the 7 colleges when there is insufficient accommodation for Dhaka University students.
He added that Dhaka University is an autonomous institution, and any decision regarding it should be made by the university administration and students. He insisted that they do not accept the affiliation of the 7 colleges.
Nusrat Imroz, a resident student of Bangladesh Kuwait Maitree Hall of Dhaka University, shared her experience of living in a Ghonoroom for two years before finally obtaining a valid seat.
She said that some master's students are still living in Gonorooms. She said that the university authorities are unable to build a new hall for students due to budget constraints, but how they could manage to construct a new administrative building for the 7 colleges.
She stated that they urgently demand the cancellation of the 7 colleges' affiliation and that any new construction built at Dhaka University should be for female students.
In response to the protest, Dhaka University authorities have initiated urgent discussions with relevant advisers and high-ranking government officials, prioritizing the issue.
Recognizing its public significance, the government has responded positively and agreed to hold an urgent meeting at the ministry level with the concerned students and key stakeholders, likely on the upcoming Sunday.
Ashiqur Islam, a political science student at DU, expressed frustration, saying: "We have been urging the university administration to separate the seven colleges for a long time, but they are not listening. On Thursday, the Press Secretary to the chief adviser, Shafiqul Alam, said that the affiliation of the seven colleges would continue and that a separate administrative building for them would be built on our campus."
"We want to make it clear that if any brick is laid on the DU campus, it should be for a women’s dormitory, not for anyone else," he added.
