A group of higher secondary-level students and a section of teachers of seven colleges previously affiliated with Dhaka University on Wednesday opposed the structure of Dhaka Central University to be formed with those colleges following students’ protests.
The teachers alleged that the proposed university would severely hamper the interest of the existing students, teachers and staff in these colleges while the students studying at the higher secondary level in these colleges alleged that the proposed university would affect their academic lives.
On the day, the Secondary and Higher Education Division under the education ministry published the draft of the Dhaka Central University Ordinance, 2025 in its web site, seeking opinions from the stakeholders within next seven days.
As per the draft, the university will be an inter-disciplinary university, it will hold 35 to 40 per cent of its classes online and the rest of the classes and all examinations will be held in person and the activities of the university will be operated between 1:00pm and 7:00pm at seven academic campuses.
It also proposed four schools — school of sciences, school of arts and humanities, school of business and school of law and justice.
Rejecting the draft, the teachers threatened not to operate any activities of the proposed university.
The protesting teachers under the banner of BCS General Education Association espoused an 11-point charter of demands at separate human chains formed simultaneously at campuses of the seven colleges on Wednesday afternoon.
The colleges are Dhaka College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Girls’ College, Eden Mahila College, Government Bangla College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Government Titumir College and Kabi Nazrul Government College.
The teachers’ demands included the incorporation of a provision in the ordinance that the BCS general education cadre members will be appointed to all administrative and teacher positions, no changes in names or structures of the colleges or any faculty or school, keeping all movable and immovable properties, including logos of the colleges, intact and no changes in the ownership of those assets under the proposed university, no introduction of any new subjects, no exclusion of any existing subject specially Arabic and Islamic studies taught at the colleges, establishment of the proposed university at separate location if necessary, no compromise on jobs or any other interests of any employee working at the colleges and no decision against the interest of the higher secondary-level students.
Dhaka College’s English department teacher Adnan Hossain said, ‘We want security of the posts for BCS education cadres. We may be transferred elsewhere.’
He said that BCS education cadre posts in the civil service would decrease if those at the colleges were not protected.
Higher secondary-level students of Dhaka College brought out a procession from their campus in the morning and marched in the New Market area in the capital.
Bangla College students formed a human chain on their campus.
As per the draft ordinance’s section 3, the university will have seven academic campuses and the university’s administrative building, students-teacher’s centre, auditorium and health centre will be at a separate location.
Section 6 says that classes of the school of sciences will be held at Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College and Begum Badrunnesa Government Women’s College.
Classes of the school of arts and humanities will be held at Mirpur Government Bangla College and classes of the school of business studies will be held at Government Titumir College.
Classes of the school of law and justice will be held at Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College and Kabi Nazrul Government College.
All students under the university will study non-major courses in the first four semesters and major courses in the next four semesters as per their discipline.
In the fifth semester, the students can change discipline on condition but not the campuses.
The draft ordinance also said that the students would have to pay monthly fees set by authorities for semester, students of the academic sessions of 2023-24 and 2024-25 would be certified by the proposed university by fulfilling the conditions and the university will have a fund with 10 sources, including special grants from the government and others.
In February 2017, the government affiliated the seven colleges with Dhaka University. The colleges were earlier under National University.
Following a large-scale student movement over deprivation of different facilities, the Dhaka University authorities on January 27 decided to cancel their affiliation with these colleges.
From August 3, the admission procedure in the undergraduate programmes under the university in the 2025-24 academic years started.
Over 2,000 teachers and 1.67 lakh students are under these colleges.