DU students take refuge in mosque as there is not enough room in halls
Belal Hossain | Friday, 11 July 2008
Students of the Dhaka University (DU) have started to take refuge in the mosques located on the campus as there is not enough room in the residential halls and the rent of mess in the city has gone up significantly in recent days.
Nearly 500 students have squatted in the mosques of three residential halls- Zia Hall, Mujib Hall and F Rahman hall.
During the previous years, a substantial number of freshers would stay in messes around the city on rent, but the rent rate has gone up in the recent days forcing the students of low and middle-income families to reside in the hall mosques, sources said.
"My father is the headmaster of a primary school in Jessore. I could stay in a mess at Azimpur area. But the rent for a seat in the mess costs Tk 1300 to Tk 1500 a month, which is almost double the rate compared to the previous year", first-year student Noman, who now stays at Zia Hall mosque, said.
First-year student of Public Administration Hakim resides in the Mijub hall mosque along with his nearly 100 classmates. He told this correspondent that he is compelled to live in the Hall mosque, as he has to sustain himself by giving private tuitions and cannot afford to rent.
"I can't even think of renting a mess to carry out studies in a congenial atmosphere, as my poor father can hardly contribute to my education expenses", Hakim said adding that his academic activities are being impeded.
Many of the freshers said that they would not had to suffer if they could take to the halls through student leaders though the student organisations in most cases use the freshers for their political interest. But student politics remains inactive at the dormitories in the wake of emergency.
When contacted, Zia Hall Provost Borhan Uddin Khan said that he had proposed the university authorities to expand the two-storeyed sports and TV building to accommodate the first-year students who are in the residing in the hall's mosque.
DU Treasurer Syed Abul Kalam Azad told the FE that the concern of accommodation crisis of students was always in the head of the authorities, adding that two dormitories one for male students and another for female would be built within the next three years to meet the prevailing seat shortage at the halls.
Nearly 500 students have squatted in the mosques of three residential halls- Zia Hall, Mujib Hall and F Rahman hall.
During the previous years, a substantial number of freshers would stay in messes around the city on rent, but the rent rate has gone up in the recent days forcing the students of low and middle-income families to reside in the hall mosques, sources said.
"My father is the headmaster of a primary school in Jessore. I could stay in a mess at Azimpur area. But the rent for a seat in the mess costs Tk 1300 to Tk 1500 a month, which is almost double the rate compared to the previous year", first-year student Noman, who now stays at Zia Hall mosque, said.
First-year student of Public Administration Hakim resides in the Mijub hall mosque along with his nearly 100 classmates. He told this correspondent that he is compelled to live in the Hall mosque, as he has to sustain himself by giving private tuitions and cannot afford to rent.
"I can't even think of renting a mess to carry out studies in a congenial atmosphere, as my poor father can hardly contribute to my education expenses", Hakim said adding that his academic activities are being impeded.
Many of the freshers said that they would not had to suffer if they could take to the halls through student leaders though the student organisations in most cases use the freshers for their political interest. But student politics remains inactive at the dormitories in the wake of emergency.
When contacted, Zia Hall Provost Borhan Uddin Khan said that he had proposed the university authorities to expand the two-storeyed sports and TV building to accommodate the first-year students who are in the residing in the hall's mosque.
DU Treasurer Syed Abul Kalam Azad told the FE that the concern of accommodation crisis of students was always in the head of the authorities, adding that two dormitories one for male students and another for female would be built within the next three years to meet the prevailing seat shortage at the halls.