Session jams debilitate CU

Around 35 departments out of the total 41 and almost all seven institutes at Chittagong University are chronically plagued with session jams due to political violence, with the current spell of blockade and hartals exacerbating the problem.

In addition, at least 30 departments cannot conduct examinations in due time, as they do not have the "academic calendar", a detailed schedule of examinations, term paper submissions, holidays, and publication of results, said administration sources.

Zakaria Khondokar Badhon, a second-year student of the English department, which sees one of the largest spell of session jams, said it had become a norm there.

One of the sufferers said it took him nearly six years, instead of four, to graduate from the department.

Kamal Uddin Ahmed, the department chairman, cited a shortage of teachers and classrooms as one of myriad reasons behind the crisis.

Since January 6 when the BNP-led alliance enforced a blockade indefinitely, 180 scheduled examinations of more than 30 departments and six institutes have been deferred, said sources at the registrar's office. Some 15,000 students out of the total 22,000 are the worst victims of session jams, the sources added.

However, a few departments like law, public administration, philosophy, history and Islamic history are free from session jams because they conduct classes and exams defying hartals and blockade, said Proctor Siraj-Ud-Doulah.

According to teachers, most departments are now facing about a one and a half years' session jam, meaning that students are graduating after a delay of this period, which eventually affects their career.

Students say they do not dare attend classes and exams fearing violence because there is not an adequate number of law enforcers deployed across the 1,753-acre campus.

Mehedi Hasan Nobel, a third-year student of accounting and information system, said their repeated appeals to the department administration to make an academic calendar went in vain. "Eighteen months have passed but our third-year final examinations are yet to be held," he said.

The same situation prevails at the Institute of Environmental Science where the third semester final exams were scheduled six months ago but have not been held yet.

"I was supposed to be in the fourth year now," said Mithun Biswas, a third-year zoology student. The results are yet to come out.

The proctor said the teachers' buses could not operate during hartal days, hampering classes and exams.

However, President of CU Teachers Association (Cuta) Benu Kumar Dey said the teachers who wanted to attend classes during shutdowns travelled by the shuttle train from the city, 22km from the campus.

Asked, Vice Chancellor Prof Anwarul Azim Arif said currently some departments were conducting classes and exams on weekends to avoid session jams.

"To operate the teachers' buses, we will talk to police for escort," he said.

INCIDENTS THAT CAUSED SESSION JAMS

Academic activities were suspended for six days following a series of clashes between Bangladesh Chhatra League and Islami Chhatra Shibir on May 15, 2009 that injured 30.

The next year, no classes and exams were held for 82 days after a student, AAM Mohiuddin Masum, was murdered by unknown miscreants on February 10.

In 2011, the period of suspension was 11 days following BCL factional clashes in April.

No class or exam had been held for 37 days since February 8, 2012 when a clash between BCL and Shibir killed two students.

In August 2014, an indefinite strike by Shibir caused a suspension of academic activities for 45 days.

On December 14 last year, the university was closed for a week after Sanskrit student Taposh Sarkar was shot dead during a BCL factional fight.