As many as 367 seats in first-year undergraduate programmes for the 2023-24 academic session remain unfilled at Dhaka University (DU) despite five rounds of the departmental migration initiative.
This shortfall highlights challenges in attracting students to what were once the highly sought-after programmes.
The session began on September 30, yet the seats remain vacant nearly three weeks later. In response, a 'special migration' round was launched on October 20 with the October 25 deadline for students to opt in.
Dhaka University offers 1,896 seats in its science unit and 2,934 in arts, social sciences and law units.
According to the admissions office, 162 seats in arts, social sciences and law units, and 205 in science unit remain vacant despite prior migration efforts.
Prof Dr Upoma Kabir, the science unit admissions coordinator, attributed this issue partly to delays in admission tests at institutions like Agricultural University, thus complicating DU's enrolment efforts.
Language-based departments particularly struggle to fill seats. Eighty-four out of 162 vacant seats in arts, social sciences and law are in seven departments.
Urdu department alone has 22 unfilled seats, with similar gaps in departments like Sanskrit, Pali and Buddhist Studies, Persian and French.
This trend is not new this year.
Last year too, despite extensive admission rounds, only 141 of 270 seats in language-related departments were filled, leading to classes beginning with significant vacancies.
Generally, 10-15 per cent of seats in these departments remain unoccupied each year.
Prof Dr Sayema Haque Bidisha, pro-VC (admin), suggested that departments and faculty heads reassess admission numbers in response to shifting student interests and evolving societal needs.
Again, the departments that once enjoyed high demand now grapple with dwindling student interest.
Prof Dr Samina Lutfa of sociology department underscored the importance of aligning academic offerings with current trends, balancing foundational knowledge with practical skills.
She advocated periodic reviews of enrolment capacities to better reflect these changes.
There are resource and enrolment challenges in newer departments. Over the last 15 years, DU has introduced 16 new departments. However, undergraduate programmes are yet to be launched in three departments.
While some newer departments attract interest, others like music, dance, meteorology, oceanography and Japanese studies still have unfilled seats.
Dr KM Azam Chowdhury, chair of oceanography department, pointed to temporary admissions suspensions during migration as a factor affecting enrolment.
He anticipates improvement in numbers as the migration process continues but acknowledged challenges particular to his field, including limited resources and the high cost of oceanographic research.
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