Authorities of several public and private universities, medical colleges and other educational institutions in the capital Dhaka have postponed classes and examinations for several days after a number of students were injured and widespread panic among students and teachers was reported due to the earthquakes between Friday and Saturday.
These educational institutions have started inspections at the classrooms and halls of residence to find whether there are any cracks or damage caused by the tremors.
Outside Dhaka, authorities of Rajshahi University and Bangladesh Open University have also announced that they would check the condition of their infrastructures.
Some of the educational institutions on Sunday held online classes in the capital.
Many students urged the authorities for permanent solutions to the dilapidated halls.聽
Panic gripped residents of Dhaka as three mild earthquakes shook the capital in eight hours on Saturday after a moderate earthquake occurred on Friday morning had left at least 10 dead and more than 1,000 injured.
The authorities of Dhaka University on Saturday postponed all its classes and examinations scheduled for Sunday and decided to immediately conduct room-by-room inspections at Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall and other old or vulnerable buildings in the presence of a BUET expert team.
The decision came after at least 20 students of the university were injured after jumping from the floors of several halls in panic when an earthquake of 5.7 magnitude (as per Bangladesh Meteorological Department) was felt across Dhaka on Friday morning.
Later at a virtual Syndicate meeting held at about 10:00pm on Saturday, presided over by the university vice-chancellor professor, Niaz Ahmad Khan, decision was made to suspend all academic activities until December 6 and students were instructed to vacate the halls by 5:00pm on Sunday.
However, all university offices will remain open as usual.
抖阴精品鈥檚 Dhaka University correspondent reported that the infrastructural conditions of Dhaka University鈥檚 dilapidated halls had remained vulnerable.
Since Sunday morning, students had been seen leaving the halls with bags and essential belongings while many students were still on the premises after 5:00pm.
Some said that the sudden notice had put them in difficulty as they had tuition, jobs and other responsibilities.
Many argued that a forced evacuation order was not a long-term solution, while others felt that the decision stemmed from the recent incident at Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall where students had occupied staff quarters, citing risks at the main building.
On Saturday night, students of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall and Bangladesh-Kuwait Maitree Hall rushed outside in panic, and several reportedly suffered panic attacks.
Students said that it was safer to stay outside than remain at risky halls. Arif Arman Nasif, a resident of Bijoy Ekattor Hall, said that he could not leave the hall on Sunday as he did not get a bus ticket to travel home.
Several students staged a sit-in in front of the vice-chancellor鈥檚 residence on Saturday night, demanding withdrawal of the mandatory hall closure order, ensuring safe accommodation for residents of vulnerable halls and relocating students to staff quarters.
Inspection of old and risky residential halls, including Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall, began on Sunday. Repair works are already under way at Surya Sen Hall, Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall and Muktijoddha Ziaur Rahman Hall.
Earlier, on October 19, a section of Salimullah Muslim Hall students staged protests when plaster fell on a student鈥檚 bed at Room 142.
Meanwhile, with term finals over, most of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology students are currently on break.
BUET authorities have formed a special expert team to assess the impact of the recent earthquakes on its halls and began inspecting four halls on Saturday and had so far found no structural damage.
Some students said that several buildings had long been vulnerable, including Ahsanullah Hall, Nazrul Hall and the old academic building, and that cracks appeared to have worsened after the earthquakes.
The authorities of Dhaka Medical College and Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital have suspended classes and examinations till November 29.
Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital principal professor Md Mazharul Shaheen said that during the Friday earthquake one of the students of the college was killed.
鈥楾his incident deeply panicked the students for which we postponed the classes and examinations,鈥� he said, adding that they did not ask the students to vacant halls.
They have informed the Public Works Department to inspect the college鈥檚 infrastructures, he added.
Dhaka Medical College principal Md Kamrul Alam said that they had made the decision as the students were panicked.
鈥榃e have not asked the students to vacant halls, but they can go to their homes if they want to,鈥� he added.
抖阴精品鈥檚 Jagannath University correspondent reported that the authorities on Saturday suspended all classes and examinations scheduled for Sunday.
Following an emergency meeting presided over by vice-chancellor professor Md Rezaul Karim on Sunday, the authorities have announced the closure of all classes and examinations until November 27 to assess structural risks and review campus conditions.
The authorities also announced that academic activities would shift to online platforms from November 30 to December 4.
A committee, with BUET experts, has been formed to inspect and evaluate campus buildings and asked to submit report by December 3.
After inspecting the women鈥檚 hall, the administration stated that no visible structural damage had been found.
Several students reported facing difficulties due to the sudden order to evacuate, noting responsibilities such as tuition and part-time work.
A press release issued by the authorities of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute on Saturday read that following the recent earthquakes all classes and examinations had been suspended until further notice for safety ground.
Students have been instructed to vacant all four residential halls of the institutes by Saturday night for safety ground, it added.
A press release issued by the authorities of North South University said that after the earthquakes, an expert team inspected the university infrastructure, but in the preliminary inspector no major faults were detected.
One of the faculties confirmed that on Sunday all classes and examinations were held online.
Both the teachers and students were still in panic as some cracks were seen at some places of the university, the faculty added.
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported that at an emergency meeting held on Sunday with vice-chancellor professor Saleh Hassan Naquib in the chair, Rajshahi University authorities decided to inspect all halls and evaluate their risk levels by a technical committee.
The meeting decided to keep the halls open and continue classes and examinations.
At an emergency meeting held on Sunday with vice-chancellor professor ABM Obaidul Islam in the chair, the authorities of Bangladesh Open University asked the students to vacate the old residential halls and relocate the medical department and examination department鈥檚 office to safe place, said a press release.
