Acute accommodation crisis at CU for decades

More than four fifths, or 83 percent, of the students of Chittagong University live outside the campus spending more money as the administration has failed to provide them with adequate accommodation facilities.

Students are growing in number over the years but the number of seats in dormitories remained unchanged. The last dormitory was built in 2010, with a capacity of 250.

Currently over 24,000 students are enrolled in the university, but only 4,278 could stay in the nine halls -- six for males and three for females -- and one hostel where both male and female students reside in separate portions.

The accommodation crisis is compounded with the arrival of new batches as old students keep staying in the halls because of session jams, according to students and teachers.

On the other hand, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) supporters occupy a large number of rooms in male dormitories, said a student of Shah Amanat Hall, adding, many students prefer to stay off campus, fearing their dominance and violence. He wished anonymity for fear of attack by BCL activists.

Female students, especially the freshers, are the worst sufferers. At present, 100 female students cram into five rooms, popularly known as "gono rooms”, in the three female dormitories. 

Farjana Akter Trisha, a geography and environmental studies student, said, “I am staying with 11 other students in a gono room at Shamsunnahar Hall, which is suitable for only four."

Because of the hall crisis, the majority have to live in off-campus houses, hostels or messes, spending Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000 including food cost per month, which is double the amount a resident student has to spare -- Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,500. But problems follow them there too.

Staying in a private hostel in Zero Point area, Jannatul Mawa said, “We regularly face water shortages here. It does not even have any hygienic bathroom or toilet.”

Saddam Hossain, an accounting and information system student living in the city's Al Falah alley, said, “I have to depend on private tuitions for paying my mess rent as my family is not well off.”

Meanwhile, the shuttle trains that could carry around 13,500 students in nine one-way trips are unable to transport all off-campus students because of low capacity and overcrowding, particularly during the rush hours.

CU is 22km away from Chittagong city.

Sarwar Kamal, a third year journalism student, said, “I miss classes often as I fail to get a seat or a little room to stand in the shuttle train due to a huge rush of students.”

According to the Chittagong University (CU) Act 1973, the university was supposed to be fully residential. But the university authorities could not ensure accommodation facilities even in 50 years of its establishment in 1966.

When contacted, Vice-Chancellor Prof Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury said the construction work of Sheikh Hasina Hall was concluded. The 320 seats in the hall will be allotted in November, he said, adding that a four-story extension to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall is under construction, with a capacity to accommodate 460 more.

Moreover, two more new halls, one each for male and female students, will be built, and they will mitigate the accommodation crisis, he said.