ONE YEAR OF DUCSU Representatives fail to implement election pledges

The office-bearers of Dhaka University Central Student Union failed to implement most of their election pledges though the union served out its tenure on March 11.

All major panels but the pro-government Bangladesh Chhatra League-led one boycotted the March 11, 2019 DUCSU polls half-way alleging irregularities and vote rigging. The elections were held after a 28-year gap.

The Chhatra League-led panel bagged 23 posts while those of the -ice president and social service affairs secretary went to Bangladesh General Students Right Protection Council.

Nurul Haque Nur of the council was elected the vice-president while Chhatra League candidates Golam Rabbani and Saddam Hossain won the general secretary and assistant general secretary positions respectively.

In their election manifesto, the Chhatra League candidates promised to place a framework to turn the university into a fully residential university, automation of all activities of the university, conducting academic activities through e-mail, abolishing the evening courses and separation of the seven affiliated colleges from the university.

They also pledged to stop enhanced hall fees and penalties, control plying of public transports through the campus and fixing rickshaw fare, introduce app-based motorbike service on the campus, extend the timeframe of the university buses and their routes, ensure quality food at the hall canteens, make the campus free from drugs and violence.

Besides, they promised to ensure increased allocation for research, teacher evaluation, plan to make students self-reliant, allocation from the DUCSU for study tours, cafeterias in several buildings, health insurance for all students, steps to improve teacher-student relationship and cultural centres for ethnic minority communities.

On the other hand, the quota reform movement candidates promised to drive away outsiders and non-students from the halls of residence to solve the accommodation crisis, improve food quality, and ensure more funds for research.

They also pledged more university transports and routes, at least 2 per cent of the annual budget for transport, play an effective role in expelling students admitted by fraudulent means and many more.

General students said that most of the promises made were not fulfilled and that the pledges were forgotten once the election was over and office bearers became busy in achieving their personal gains.

During the past one year, DUCSU held a few cultural programmes, sports events, discussions and conferences ignoring major problems faced by the students, they added.

DUCSU only launched app-based bicycle ride-sharing service JoBike at the university and installed sanitary napkin vending machine network at the university for female students, they said.

They also said that lack of coordination among the union vice-president and other office holders ahd worsened the situation and the platform could not take any solid steps to resolve major problems faced by the students including accommodation crisis.

A number of students said that lucrative promises made by Chhatra League were just eyewash as they were too busy to do their organisational programme under the banner of DUCSU.

Accommodation crisis still remain a major concern, though almost all panels had pledged to stop the practice of ‘ganaroom’, room that usually accommodate more students than their capacity, but there was no progress in this regard.

Students alleged that Chhatra League controls the process of allotment of rooms at halls of residence for males and forces the residents to join political programmes.

The Chhatra League even drives away residents from their rooms allotted by the authorities or forces them to share their beds with Chhatra League activists, general students alleged.

Resident students are forced to join Chhatra League programmes and attend orientation programmes conducted by Chhatra League activists at the hall guest rooms.

Vice-President Nurul Haque Nur blamed ‘lack of cooperation from Chhatra League-backed representatives’ for the union’s performance as Chhatra League has majority in the body and they also control the administration. ‘We had many things to do but without their cooperation we could not perform that’, he said.

General Secretary Golam Rabbani said, ‘There was a lot of dissatisfaction among students for not having the DUCSU for 28 years. So, it is not possible to change everything just in one year.’

‘But with the continuation of the union, it will be possible to make Dhaka University a 100 per cent student-friendly institution’, he added.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net