Admission seekers will not get any second chance to enrol at Dhaka University, as the High Court yesterday upheld the university’s decision to bar any student from taking the admission test twice.
The High Court bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Md Ejarul Haque Akondo yesterday rejected a previous rule on the matter and came up with the verdict after rejecting a writ petition challenging the legality of the DU decision.
Several of the petitioners who were present at court broke down in tears when the judges upheld the DU decision.
The university’s lawyer AFM Mesbah said only those who will pass this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams will be eligible for the university’s admission test for the 2015-16 academic year.
“The High Court has rejected the rule. Therefore, the decision to disallow second chances remains,” he said.
The court said almost half of the admission seekers were students who had already been admitted to the DU last year and were planning to take the admission test again in order to secure a seat in their desired subject.
Because of these second-time examinees, a good number of freshers are denied admission while many seats are left vacant when the second-timers switch departments.
Meanwhile, the petitioners’ lawyer Subrata Chowdhury said he would talk to his clients about filing an appeal against the verdict with the Supreme Court.
Previously, students received two chances to secure admission at Dhaka University; but last year the DU authorities decided to put an end to this rule, prompting protests by students who wished to sit again for the exam.
A total of 36 admission seekers and guardians later filed a writ challenging the DU decision.
Following a primary hearing on March 16, the High Court had issued a rule asking why the cancellation should not be declared illegal and why the previous system should not be reinstalled.
