Resolving varsity students' housing problem

An acute accommodation crisis has been prevailing in the country's public universities. The housing problem is deepening day by day mainly for the new entrants. Only 43.25 per cent of the students of the public universities are getting accommodation facility, according to an annual report of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The rest 56.75 per cent students are compelled to reside in rented houses around the campus due to lack of accommodation in the residential halls. Many rural students move to cities like Dhaka every year for higher education. Unfortunately, most of them do not find on-campus accommodation. And university authorities rarely help them find reasonable housing. The residential halls of public universities have severe seat shortage. As a result, the students are compelled to reside in rented accommodation. Despite paying exorbitant rents, they face several problems in these places. Most messes provide unhygienic food. And there are not enough facilities for cleaning or maintenance. Most of the time, the messes and rented flats are located far away from universities because of which students have to travel long distances and spend hefty amounts on transportation.
Given these dire conditions, students are compelled to engage in part-time work or tutoring to pay their rent and enjoy other amenities. Seeing that students are already under academic pressure, they should be spared all such troubles. The authorities should consider the conditions of these students with due sympathy and take necessary measures to resolve it. The authorities need to see the conditions of these students for themselves and take steps to address the plight of these students. Also, both public and private universities should shoulder the responsibility of their students' housing.

Abu Bokkar Siddique,
Department of Marketing,
Dhaka University, Dhaka,
[email protected]