For normalcy in the campuses
Monday, 23 March 2009
Expectation of a stable and inspirational start in different areas of national life was created following the last parliamentary elections and peaceful transition of power to an elected government. But it is a sad state of affairs that this hope continues to be elusive in the campuses of the country. One after another, the institutions of higher learning have experienced a number of violent incidents of serious nature since the election. The theatres of conflict were not only the general universities but also specialised ones that help directly in the creation of human resources such as medical colleges, polytechnics, engineering university, etc.
The troubles at the outset had to do with in-fighting between rival groups of the student organisation claiming itself to be affiliated with the ruling party. But the clashes between student fronts of opponent political parties as well, have, of late, been reported. The violence generated by different factions of the student organisation under report has died down generally after persuasive efforts of the ruling party leaders including the prime minister herself. But the tendency towards violence and mayhem continues to simmer in many institutions which is not conducive to academic pursuit in a desired environment.
A direct outcome of campus violence is long closure of institutions and the creation or worsening of the phenomenon known as 'session jams'. The session jams are like a curse for the student population, their guardians and the nation as a whole. A young person who is supposed to complete his graduation in about four years needs to waste an additional two or three years in completing the same due to exams delayed and postponed from violence. This leads to gross waste of resources for the students and their guardians who in many cases are not affluent ones. After passing out, job-hunts drain away further time and resources. Some of the victims of session jams find themselves age- barred for sitting in competitive exams for the civil services and other opportunities.
Another form of loss is a large amount of money drained away from the country for the upkeep of the ever-growing number of Bangladeshi students abroad. Among the many observations made on the occasion of a seminar two years ago, the one that was reported and should have attracted attention was about Taka 4.5 billion being spent annually on average by a poor country like Bangladesh on its overseas student population. They would have remained in the country and saved resources if quality education could be ensured here and the public sector academic institutions including higher seats of learning were not so frequently troubled by incidents of violence, leading to their frequent closures.
Can a country such as Bangladesh afford such misuse of resources and suffer education gaps ? Clearly, the civil society and the political parties need to address these issues. Meanwhile, the educational institutions need to show much greater concern and take initiatives on their own. For example, they can cancel weekly and other holidays, forego the long periodic vacations and work in double shifts to make up for closure due to student politics and violence.
Student politics can be acceptable but not of that type that makes academic pursuit one of very insufficient concern while pressing narrow political or other extraneous agendas as the main objective. A good number of teachers who are found embroiled in politics lend to the vicious brew that makes the campus environment anything but academic. Thus, changes are needed in the very mind-set of such teachers. The politicians have a key role in restraining their activists in the campus. The general students also need to be proactive to make their pressures felt in restoring and maintaining the desired academic environment.
The troubles at the outset had to do with in-fighting between rival groups of the student organisation claiming itself to be affiliated with the ruling party. But the clashes between student fronts of opponent political parties as well, have, of late, been reported. The violence generated by different factions of the student organisation under report has died down generally after persuasive efforts of the ruling party leaders including the prime minister herself. But the tendency towards violence and mayhem continues to simmer in many institutions which is not conducive to academic pursuit in a desired environment.
A direct outcome of campus violence is long closure of institutions and the creation or worsening of the phenomenon known as 'session jams'. The session jams are like a curse for the student population, their guardians and the nation as a whole. A young person who is supposed to complete his graduation in about four years needs to waste an additional two or three years in completing the same due to exams delayed and postponed from violence. This leads to gross waste of resources for the students and their guardians who in many cases are not affluent ones. After passing out, job-hunts drain away further time and resources. Some of the victims of session jams find themselves age- barred for sitting in competitive exams for the civil services and other opportunities.
Another form of loss is a large amount of money drained away from the country for the upkeep of the ever-growing number of Bangladeshi students abroad. Among the many observations made on the occasion of a seminar two years ago, the one that was reported and should have attracted attention was about Taka 4.5 billion being spent annually on average by a poor country like Bangladesh on its overseas student population. They would have remained in the country and saved resources if quality education could be ensured here and the public sector academic institutions including higher seats of learning were not so frequently troubled by incidents of violence, leading to their frequent closures.
Can a country such as Bangladesh afford such misuse of resources and suffer education gaps ? Clearly, the civil society and the political parties need to address these issues. Meanwhile, the educational institutions need to show much greater concern and take initiatives on their own. For example, they can cancel weekly and other holidays, forego the long periodic vacations and work in double shifts to make up for closure due to student politics and violence.
Student politics can be acceptable but not of that type that makes academic pursuit one of very insufficient concern while pressing narrow political or other extraneous agendas as the main objective. A good number of teachers who are found embroiled in politics lend to the vicious brew that makes the campus environment anything but academic. Thus, changes are needed in the very mind-set of such teachers. The politicians have a key role in restraining their activists in the campus. The general students also need to be proactive to make their pressures felt in restoring and maintaining the desired academic environment.