The University of Chittagong, a campus of picturesque natural beauty, has entered 58 years of its establishment this year. The University of Chittagong is one of the four fully autonomous universities in the country. It is the third public university in the country in terms of establishment. The University of Chittagong officially started its journey on November 18, 1966 and it is by far the largest university campus in the country-which is surrounded with 2300 acres of large hilly and flat land.
The University of Chittagong was founded with four departments of Bengali, English, History and Economics, and 7 teachers and 200 students. Now the university has 10 faculties, 48 departments and 6 institutes. About 28,000 students are studying here and have 920 teachers. There are a total of 13 dormitory halls (8 for boys, 5 for girls) and one hostel for students.
As there was no university in the Chittagong division at the beginning of the twentieth century, the people of Chittagong felt the need for a university locally. On 28 December 1940, Maulana Moniruzzaman, in his speech to the Islamabad All India Conference of Jamiat Ulama Hind in Calcutta, proposed the construction of an 'Islamic University' in the Chittagong region and for the same purpose he purchased land for the construction of a university at Deyang Hill in Anwara upazila of Chittagong. Two years later, on 28 February 1942, Nur Ahmad, Chairman, formally demanded the establishment of a university in Chittagong in the Bengal Legislative Assembly.
Chittagong University is located in Hathazari upazila, 22 km from Chittagong city. So, the shuttle train was started in 1980 to facilitate the commute of students. And this shuttle train is the main attraction of Chittagong University. Chittagong University is currently the only shuttle train's university in the world.
At present there are 21 educational institutions under Chittagong University. Chittagong University has the largest university library in Chittagong-so that there are more than three and a half lakh books and have rare collections. Many notable former teachers and students have studied and taught at this university, including one Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus and multiple Ekushey Padak winners.
Founded five years before the Great Liberation War, Chittagong University played an effective role in various movements of the country including the mass uprising of 1969, the struggle for independence of Bangladesh. Later, the university played a significant role in the anti-authoritarian movement of the 1990s.
On the eve of the War of Liberation in 1971, the then Vice-Chancellor of the University Dr. Azizur Rahman Mallick to build resistance against the possible attack of the Pakistani army on March 8. 'Chittagong University Sangram Parishad' was formed under the chairmanship of Dr. Azizur Rahman Mallick. On March 24, in support of the freedom struggle, a mass music program was organized by the Alumni Association at the central field of the university. On March 26, Pakistani forces occupied the university campus, and used it as a base for nine consecutive months. The Pakistani army set up their concentration camp here. Later, at the end of the war, the freedom fighters led by Zafar Imam raided the university on 14 December 1971 and on 16 December, nine days after the surrender of the Pakistani army in Dhaka, Chittagong University was liberated from Pakistani control on 25 December.
There are many stories and parables to tell about the achievement of Chittagong University. But in order to move forward on the path of prosperity, to keep in a glorious position in the country and in the international arena, the university authorities have to solve the ongoing problems and crises. Despite being the largest campus in the country, the students are being deprived of various facilities due to lack of adequate residential facilities. According to the 46th report of UGC, 79% of the total students of Chittagong University (CU) do not have accommodation. That is, only 21 percent of students have the benefit of staying at hall. On the other hand, the political violence of CU halls constantly become headlines in the media. Moreover, there is a shortage of quality and adequate nutritious food in the halls dining.
Despite being one of the most important institutions of higher education sector in the country, there are still session jam in many departments, faculties and institutes at Chittagong University. And this session jam is a terrible curse for the students. Except for a handful of departments, the other departments have no initiative to fill the time that was lost due to Covid-19 pandemic situation as session jam. But other universities have taken initiatives to compensate for that loss.
In spite of being one of the important institutions of higher education sector in the country and one of the four fully autonomous universities, Chittagong University does not have TSC (Teachers-Students Center). However, TSC plays an effective role in developing friendly environment between teachers and students. TSC also plays a significant role in advancing research, to develop the trend of free thinking. Because of this, Chittagong University is relatively behind other universities in cultural activities.
There is no end to students' complaints about the notorious act of the central library of Chittagong University. But this library is one of the richest libraries in the country. But here students have to be harassed to enter and take library facilities. The students have protested at various times and given written complaints to the authorities. University authorities should pay special attention in this regard. Research is the lifeblood of the university. According to recent statistics, Chittagong University lags far behind other universities in research works. University authority needed to involve students in research and increase allocations for research.
Shuttle train is the vitalization of Chittagong University. Partha Barua and SI Tutul were created from here by beating this shuttle. But there is a bogie crisis in the shuttle in proportion to the number of students, there is a lack of healthy environment. It can be seen that even if there is a fan inside the shuttle, the fan does not turn on, the lights do not turn on, there is no toilet system inside the shuttle. Moreover, even after so many years, the number of bogie in the shuttle train has not increased. But the number of students has increased. And in this situation, the students have to suffer a lot. Recently, some students of the university faced a tragic accident after not getting a seat inside the shuttle train, they climbed onto the roof of the train and fell from there.
Convocation is a very important event for a university. This program is very emotional and prestigious for the students. But the saddest thing is that Chittagong University has had only 4 convocation ceremonies in 57 years! Why is Chittagong University so behind in this case? Why is the vice-chancellor failing to hold the convocation ceremony despite repeated promises?
Recently, a statistic showed that the number of students enrolling in Chittagong University is decreasing day by day. Students are not taking the exam despite applying for the exam. Even though repeatedly called for admission, the seat remains vacant, students are not available for admission. This is easy to imagine why this is occurring! It is now a big challenge for the university authorities to enter the students to the university.
This is the expectation that the university administration will take effective steps to solve the ongoing problems and crises. Especially, it is our expectation to the first woman and the current vice-chancellor of the university Professor Dr. Shireen Akhter that she will play an effective role in the overall development of the university-to solve the ongoing problems and crises. As a student of Chittagong University I feel proud and I wish the prosperity of Chittagong University. Happy 58th University Day!
The writer is researcher, journalist and columnist
