The government’s initiative to establish a new public university – Dhaka Central University – by bringing together the seven colleges de-affiliated from Dhaka University has stuck in limbo for nearly a year. Disagreements over the proposed institutional structure and the draft ordinance have emerged as the main obstacles in kick-starting the much-hyped university. Under the government plan, the seven colleges are to be reorganised into four schools – Science, Arts and Humanities, Business, and Law and Justice. While honours and master’s students of the colleges have largely welcomed the move, but opposition has come from sections of intermediate students and teachers. As a result, uncertainty continues to grip students of the seven major colleges. Newly admitted students for the 2024–25 session under the proposed university are deeply frustrated, as classes scheduled to begin in late November have yet to start. The prolonged delay has also affected nearly 200,000 students enrolled in these institutions. Compounding the crisis, repeated protests by students of the seven colleges have created serious disruptions to traffic flow in the city. In the latest demonstration on Thursday, protesters blocked the Science Lab and Technical intersections, causing immense suffering to commuters.
The affiliation of the seven colleges with Dhaka University formally ended in January 2025. Currently the colleges are being run under a temporary arrangement, with the principal of Dhaka College acting as administrator. However, the absence of a clear, effective and time-bound government action plan has only deepened confusion and mistrust among stakeholders.
Teachers of the seven colleges have also taken to the streets in protest against the proposed structure, fearing that the transition to a university could undermine their career and promotion prospects. They are particularly concerned that their subject-specific posts under the civil service framework may not exist in the proposed university. Students and guardians, meanwhile, have raised concerns. Many honours-level subjects currently taught at the seven colleges were reportedly excluded from the proposed university structure, prompting demands for revisions to the draft ordinance. There are also concerns that the new arrangement could limit educational opportunities for women, as Eden Mohila College – the country’s oldest and largest institution of higher education for women – would cease to exist as a dedicated women’s college once merged into DCU.
Although students admitted this year are now being considered DCU students, teachers of the BCS Education Cadre have yet to be formally incorporated as faculty under the proposed framework. Teachers are demanding that the ordinance ensure the inclusion of all levels of BCS Education Cadre teachers under DCU from the 2024–25 academic year.
Adding another layer to the crisis are higher secondary students, who fear that the establishment of a new university under the proposed structure could push HSC-level education to the margins. Students of Dhaka College’s higher secondary section have already staged protests, voicing concerns that their academic programmes may be discontinued or neglected altogether.
Each of the seven colleges has a distinct historical identity, academic culture and social role that deserve protection. Rather than dissolving them into a single administrative structure, many believe the government would do well to establish Dhaka Central University as a separate, fully-fledged university and affiliate the seven colleges with it. Such an arrangement could preserve the individual heritage of these institutions while ensuring coordinated academic governance.
The government should urgently engage in meaningful and transparent dialogue with protesting teachers, students and other stakeholders to address legitimate concerns and revise the draft ordinance where necessary. Without a clear, time-bound roadmap, the present vacuum will continue to breed uncertainty, disrupt academic life and erode public confidence in a reform that was meant to resolve, not deepen, the seven-college crisis.
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