A classroom shortage looms large ahead for the Jagannath University (JnU) students while university authorities are going to open three new departments starting from the upcoming session.
The decision came at the university’s 55th syndicate meeting, which was held last Thursday, though no decision was made concerning where the classes for these new departments will be taken in.
JnU Registrar Mohammad Ohiduzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune, “We have already gotten the go-ahead to open Public Administration Department and permission to open Fine Arts and Drama Arts Department has also been sought to the University Grants Commission.”
When asked about the arrangement of classrooms for these departments, he said it would be arranged somehow but declined to give any further details.
Established on October 20, 2005, on only 11.5 acres of land, Jagannath University now has around 21,000 students spread around its 28 departments.
It is not possible to establish new academic buildings within this limited boundary of land, said a JnU source.
A high official from the university’s planning department said it is also not possible to build new floors on the existing academic buildings as cracks have already developed in them.
When contacted, Sukumar Chandra Saha, executive engineer of the university, told the Dhaka Tribune it is impossible to build a new high-rise academic building on the campus without demolishing any of the old ones.
If authorities want to build smaller sized buildings it is possible, but in that case, garden space has to be removed from the campus, he said.
It is a common scenario for students to wait in queues for classrooms to be vacated, as they are always occupied by classes, from different departments, in-progress.
Despite the classroom shortage, JnU authorities were able to accommodate five departments on a single floor of the newly erected academic building.
The five departments are Law, Journalism, Anthropology, Pharmacy and Microbiology.
The decision to open three new departments, without ensuring more classrooms, will prove to be an internally disastrous decision, students of the university alleged.
About the new departments, a senior teacher of the university said: “Opening three new departments is a good sign for the university, but JnU authorities need to focus on how to manage classrooms since most of the time we have to wait for the classrooms to be free before holding a class.”
When contacted, Prof Mizanur Rahman, vice-chancellor of the university, said: “The syndicate has decided to open a new department and we are trying to open two more departments from the upcoming session.”
When asked about classroom shortages, he said steps to manage classrooms will be taken very shortly. It’s possible that the recently erected academic building will have more floors built on top.
