No chance for second timers

The Bangladesh Supreme Court has turned down a petition that was seeking a 2nd chance for aspirants trying for admission to the Dhaka University (DU). A four-member Appeals Bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on Monday scrapped a 'leave-to-appeal' petition filed by guardians of 26 students seeking a 2nd chance for the aspirants. The petition was filed after the DU said no aspirants will be allowed a second chance to seek admission to the university. The Supreme Court order came on the very day the Dhaka University's  online admission process for 2015-16 is to start.
The petitioners were represented by Subrata Chowdhury while AFM Mesbah Uddin stood for the university and Attorney General Mahbubey Alam argued for the state.
Following the order, Mesbah Uddin said, “There will be no second chance for someone seeking entry to Dhaka University as the Appellate Division has scrapped the plea.”
Chowdhury said, “The academic council has the jurisdiction to change or amend their decision. It is their internal matter. Since there is no scope to interfere in the matter, the High Court turned down our petition. “We filed a leave-to-appeal plea for allowing students of last two years to try their luck in the entry exams. Since the Appellate Division has rejected it, there is no scope for second-time admission seekers.”
Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique, after a meeting with the admission committee last year, had opined that , allowing second chance to old students could ‘deprive’ first time entry seekers. The move would also help eliminate ‘fraudulent practices’ involving admission, he said. Admission seekers in despair over the university’s decision held back-to-back demonstrations on campus for days. The writ was filed with the High Court by 26 guardians of students who want to take the test again. On Mar 16, a rule was issued after primary hearing. The court asked why the cancellation of allowing a second chance to admit candidates, should not be declared illegal. The rule had also asked as to why the previous system should not be reinstalled. On July 8, the High Court scrapped the plea. The petitioners moved the chamber judge against the scrapping on July 29, who forwarded it for hearing at a regular bench.
The Appellate Division’s decision after hearing the leave to appeal plea kept upheld the decision of the university authorities, according to bdnews24.com.
- biplab