DU’s decision to keep ‘gono’ rooms closed commendable

As the Dhaka University authorities are preparing to reopen its 18 dormitories on a limited scale on October 5, ahead of resuming in-person classes, students who were staying in the 'gono' rooms before the pandemic are naturally worried about whether they will be able to get any regular seats in the dorms. Although students currently pursuing their master's degrees and those who are in honours final year are supposed to return to the dormitories first, students of other academic sessions will be allowed into the dorms gradually. However, how the university authorities will provide seats to these 'gono' room residents as they have decided to end the 'gono' room culture—to maintain the Covid-19 safety guidelines—has become a big question.

Reportedly, the university authorities have decided to vacate seats occupied by former students in the dorms and allot them to the 'gono' room students. To ensure this, they have made a list of the former students who have been staying in the dorms illegally for a long time, and another list of first- and second-year students to whom these seats will be allotted. Although the hall authorities have said that they will ensure the allotment, we don't know how they plan to do it. As far as we know, the university authorities took such initiatives in the past as well, but could not implement them allegedly due to the influence of the ruling party's student wing. And students of 'gono' rooms fear that if the administration cannot prevent the stay of "illegal" former students at the dormitories, they may have to live outside the campus, further spiralling into uncertainty.

Besides, it also remains to be seen how the authorities ensure that only honours final-year and master's students will stay in the dorms at the beginning. In a sign of things (troubles) to come when the university finally reopens, we have already seen the chaos that was created in the university libraries on Sunday, when students entering the libraries after the long closure hardly maintained health guidelines and got into a scuffle with the proctor. The incident raises alarm as to what will happen when the university dorms reopen and the classes resume.

We hope the Dhaka University authorities will remain alert and take all the necessary preparations so that such incidents do not recur. Maintaining health safety guidelines and social distancing should be a priority for the university authorities as they reopen. We hope other universities will learn from DU's experience in phased reopening, and reopen their own doors only after taking proper measures to avoid untoward incidents.