The Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) election this year cost over three times the annual budget allocated by the university administration, raising questions about fund management and use of student fees.
University officials estimated the cost of the Ducsu and hall union election 2025 at around Tk1 crore, while only Tk30 lakh is allocated annually to the Ducsu fund.
Prof HM Mosarof Hossain, the newly appointed Ducsu treasurer, confirmed that the election cost was about Tk1 crore. Mohammad Shaiful Islam, director of accounts at DU, also confirmed that Tk30 lakh has been budgeted for Ducsu this year.
Around half of the annual Ducsu budget comes from fees collected from students—Tk60 for Ducsu and Tk60 for hall unions per student per academic year—amounting to roughly Tk18 lakh annually for each. Since 2020, nearly Tk90 lakh should have been collected for Ducsu and another Tk90 lakh for hall unions.
However, the administration deposits these fees into a central account as university income, rather than transferring them to a separate Ducsu account. Prof Mosarof Hossain acknowledged that “all university fees go into one central account” and are allocated “in portions” when needed.
He also confirmed that students’ fees have not been transferred to the Ducsu account yearly, but stressed that the election expenses already exceeded what would have been generated from Ducsu fees alone.
The practice appears to contradict the Ducsu constitution, which requires the general secretary to submit a budget to the executive committee within 14 days of assuming office.
