Quality of dormitory foods leaves much to be desired

Students who have to go through the experience of hostel life in Bangladesh almost without exception complain against foods. And they surely have valid reasons for this. School and college hostels in rural areas in most cases provide better foods compared to dormitories of government colleges and public universities. Leave some of the costly private educational institutions alone, the picture is more or less pathetic everywhere in the dinning halls all across the country.
What an injustice! The most talented students seek and get admission to the highly reputed public universities but the foods served in their dining halls are of awfully low quality. It is the time when students are in their prime of youth and the food they are compelled to take is most ill-suited to possess a sound mind in a sound body, let alone give them the required energy for the extra effort they put in their studies.
The dining halls of different universities have witnessed various management systems. Actually a precipitous deterioration started immediately after the country's independence. Yet the first couple of years were better compared to the subsequent worsening of the situation. For example the premier university of the country, the University of Dhaka could not maintain the standard of foods at the dining halls of different dormitories. In 1974, to be precise, the standard simply nosedived with the country encountering a near famine. For the first time, students were served handmade rooti for one of their main meals.
Yet rooti or rice is not the actual issue. The issue is the dishes served with the staple. On this count, the pulse was so diluted that one literally needed a microscope to identify presence of at least a few traces of its granules. This speaks volumes for the quality of food served at that time. Those who could afford had an alternative to the dining hall in the privately run canteens. How hygienic the preparation and service quality were, is however another issue. That was the time for austerity, though. People of all walks had to make sacrifices.  
Sadly, hardly any attention is still given to the food served at the dining halls or canteen of the highest seats of learning. The problem has further been compounded by the arrival of fast food. Today, broiler chicken is cheaper and it is the main source of nutrition for the thousands of boarders residing in hostels. The main meals are arranged without enough thought to health from a dietician's point of view. No care is taken to serve a balanced diet. In one such hostel of a military-run educational institution, even a dish of fish is a luxury.
Students engaged in higher studies have little time to have fruits. Then the issue of chemically-treated fruits is there. So, their food should have dishes of vegetables, fish and meat. Vegetables of the cheapest variety are served in small quantities and if there is fish, it is the same type almost round the year. This forces students to eat fast food even more at least because of the better taste. The result is that they are deprived of the necessary nutrition. Also there is the chance of falling ill due to eating such junk foods day after day.
One leading writer described the foods served at the dining hall of the famous Presidency College in Calcutta of the British India. He has praised the quality of food. Those were the times when students commanded respect and there was no scope for being indifferent to their foods. Time has changed for the better in many areas but the dormitory foods have failed to draw attention of the university authorities. This goes against the principle of nurturing health and talent of the best crop of young generation who are expected to take the baton from the old guards.