Once cancelled, development fee has returned at Jahangirnagar University (JU) in a new garb for the first-year honours students of the academic session 2023-24.
The matter surfaced after a notification signed by Deputy Registrar (Academic) and the Secretary of Central Admission Test Management Committee Syed Mohammad Ali Reza published on the respective admission concerned website on March 10.
The notice stated that students will have to pay a total fee of 14, 189 taka with an additional 6 thousand taka as development fee to get admitted to the university.
Earlier in 2018, after a massive student protest, the university authorities decided to cancel the development fees taken from honours first year students, and graduates enrolling for masters programmes.
Following the decision, the university authorities did not impose the development fee for the three consecutive academic years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23.
This year, the university authorities imposed an extra Tk 6,000 as student welfare fee which was previously known as development fee.
The students attributed the entire liability to the university authorities whereas the university authorities attributed it to the University Grants Commission (UGC) over the decision.
It is learned that the university authorities imposed the Student Welfare Fee for insufficient funds for allocating budget to the respective departments for its infrastructure development.
A professor who has been serving as the department chairman on the condition of anonymity said, "The departments which do not have large number of students are the sufferers. The university administrations allocated budget is not sufficient for them. For this reason, several department chairmen urged the authorities to impose the development fee once again."
Prof Mohammed Enamullah, chairman of the Chemistry department, said, "The administration is run by the VC along with an interest group. All kinds of decisions are made as per their will. The incumbent administration does not believe in inclusiveness."
Throwing questions to the administration, he said, "The administration allocated and disbursed the budget to every department for the last three years without imposing the development fee from the students. So, why is it not possible to allocate now?"
Terming the amount of imposed fee as inconsistent, he said, "The science faculty students fee and social and arts faculty students cannot be the same. So, how can they impose the same fee?"
This correspondent talked to several students of the university. They alleged that, the departments resorted to a cunning way to collect the fees. The students have to deposit a fixed amount to the respective departments bank account to complete the procedures for appearing in the year or semester final exam.
However, if a student fails to deposit the required amount, the department chairman will not sign the corresponding documents.
Prof Md Nuhu Alam, the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Biological Sciences of the university, attributed the liability to the University Grants Commission (UGC).
He said, "Forty percent of the admission test application fee is deposited in the universitys treasury for use in the development sector, while ten percent is paid by the government for taxation and the remaining fifty percent is for university admission test expenses, following UGC instructions."
"The budget constraints and the request from the respective departments of the university have compelled us to make such a decision," he added.
Prof Bashir Ahmed, the Acting Dean of the Social Sciences Faculty, echoed the same. But he added that if any student cannot afford to pay the fee then the respective deans offices will consider the matter.
Prof Rasheda Akhtar, Treasurer of the university, said, "UGC now deducts forty percent of the total earned money from the admission test. After the deduction, the university authorities have to face difficulties to afford the operational cost of the admission test."
"The development fee was borne by the university when UGC did not deduct forty percent of the fee. Now it is not possible to allocate a budget for infrastructure development of the departments at all," she added.
Citing the directive of the UGC, she also said, "UGC told us that they won deduct the forty percent money from the admission test fee, if JU joins the unified admission test system."
Following the decision of imposing the development fee, Alif Mahmud, President of JU Chhatra Union, expressed anger over an extra fee of Tk 6 thousands.
He said, "It will be a burden for middle and lower-middle-class family students. The university authorities made a reckless decision that is not student-friendly at all. It will lead to the announcement of a tougher movement if the administration does not withdraw the decision in this regard."
Besides, the progressive students of the university also issued statements and launched protest programmes in this regard under the banner of different platforms.
Despite several attempts to contact JU Vice-Chancellor Prof Md Nurul Alam in this connection, he did not receive the phone calls.
