Deans of all schools and heads of disciplines at Khulna University have demanded to leave the cluster admission system and return to their own independent admission process.
They made this demand at a meeting held at the Shahid Tajuddin Ahmad Administrative Building of the university around 10:30am on Tuesday.
The meeting was chaired by Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Md Rezaul Karim.
During the meeting, the speakers said that the cluster system is a complicated, opaque, and discriminatory process.
They argued that this system is causing universities to lose their individuality, preventing them from operating with their own academic calendars. As a result, the term duration for first-year students of each academic session has been shortened, while the duration of other terms has been extended. This violates the Undergraduate Ordinance and hampers the delivery of quality education.
They further mentioned that having five batches of students in a single session creates administrative complexities and exacerbates the issues of teacher shortages and infrastructure deficits. The additional batches are increasing the workload on teachers, and without term breaks, their professional, research, and personal plans are being disrupted.
Additionally, the speakers noted that due to the cluster system, Khulna University’s OBE (Outcome-Based Education) curriculum is not being properly implemented.
They also pointed out that the current system prevents the university from conducting admission tests using its own question framework, reducing the opportunity to assess talented students. Furthermore, each batch admitted to the university has a significant number of vacant seats, which is higher than in previous years, leading to a reduction in diversity among students.
The speakers further emphasized that one of the demands of Khulna University’s teachers and students involved in the anti-discrimination movement is the abolition of the cluster system. To preserve the university’s identity and to support students’ demands, they called on the Vice-Chancellor to initiate the organization of independent admission tests, leaving the cluster system behind. The teachers also congratulated the Vice-Chancellor on completing one month in office and wished for his success during his tenure.
In his speech, Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Rezaul Karim affirmed: "Khulna University has a reputation, and we must maintain it. This university will operate according to its own laws. Students have previously raised the demand to leave the cluster system, and today the teachers have voiced the same demand. I also support this demand and would like to return to the independent admission process. I hope we will soon reach a positive decision on this matter. In this regard, I seek the cooperation of the university’s teachers and students."
