RU convocation reg fee too high?

The registration fee for the upcoming 10th convocation of Rajshahi University has been fixed at Tk 3,750, at least Tk 1,000 higher than those of most other public universities.

Though RU charged Tk 3,500 last year, some former graduates have called this year's fee “too high”, raising their voice on social media.

Registration is open from November 3 to November 30.

On behalf of President Abdul Hamid, also chancellor of RU, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid will chair the ceremony, scheduled for December 24.

This year, those who obtained master's, MBBS, BDS, MPhil and PhD degrees between 2011 and 2014 will be able to participate.

Requesting to reduce the fee, former graduate Mohammad Sajid Rahman wrote on Facebook that the fee was higher than that of any other public university.

He told The Daily Star, “Most of us who want to participate are unemployed or doing part-time jobs, as we have passed recently. It is burdensome for the unemployed like us”.

So far Dhaka, Jahangirnagar, and Chittagong universities have charged between Tk 1,500 and Tk 2,500.

RU student adviser Mizanur Rahman, however, said most participants wanted to take away the ceremony gowns and hats. “That's why we are giving hats and gowns to them from this year. For this, we had to add an additional Tk 1,500. But other universities need not bear the cost, as they take the gowns back.”