More subsidies needed for foods at varsity halls

Many public university students in Bangladesh are from poor to middle-income families. They support their expenses by tutoring or part-time jobs. High inflation, followed by a price hike of daily essentials, has raised food prices in residential halls at various public universities across the country. The students who live in university dormitories are now passing a terrible time for this. Though they now have to spend more, their income has not increased. Earlier, a varsity student's income of Tk 4,000 from tuition would be enough for a month. But now, they cannot manage one month even after earning Tk 8,000. The cost of meal has increased, and so have travel and other expenses.

Although the prices have increased, the quantity and quality of food in residential halls have not improved. The food the dining rooms, canteens and cafeterias of a residential hall offers is very poor. According to a recent report, about 300 students are being served with just one kilogram of cooked dal (lentils) at the canteens of a reputed university. The same goes for other food too. A piece of meat or fish reportedly weighs around 20 to 25 grams and tastes horrible. Besides food, the environment of most canteens is unhygienic. The miserable quality of food often forces many students to eat outside, which, according to most students is not an affordable option. One has to spend around Tk 200 per day for lunch and dinner, given that one wants to have a proper meal.

A residential student of Cumilla University alleged that he used to eat three meals a day, but now he has to take only two meals a day. The story of most residential students in our country is now more or less the same. These students cannot properly focus on their studies and research due to their financial crisis. The authorities concerned should take an urgent step to resolve this problem and subsidise more on the food the university students depend on.

Md. Talha Zubayer,

Student of Comilla University, Cumilla,

talhazubayercou@gmail.com