Ban on student politics at DU: How far has implementation come?
The administration stated that some recommendations have come from both meetings, but further discussions are needed before a final decision is reached.
Following student protests on the night of 9 August, Dhaka University (DU) announced a ban on both "open" and "secret" student politics in its residential halls.
The university administration has since held meetings with hall provosts and active student organisations, but it has not provided a clear position on the progress of implementing the announced decision.
The administration stated that some recommendations have come from both meetings, but further discussions are needed before a final decision is reached.
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Provosts seek clear guidelines
On Saturday (9 August), the administration held a nearly five-hour meeting with the provosts of the university's 18 halls to discuss the ongoing demand to ban student politics.
While no definitive decision was reached, the provosts requested a clear policy on student politics from the administration.
A hall provost, wishing anonymity, told The Business Standard that all hall provosts at the meeting stated that they do not want the old political culture to return to the halls.
"Our students don't want it, and neither do we," the provost said.
Another provost said, "We have told the university administration to make a central decision on whether student politics will stay on or not."
Associate Professor Md Faruk Shah, provost of Shahid Sergeant Zahurul Huq Hall, told The Business Standard, "The meeting discussed how to uphold and implement the understanding reached between the students and the then-administration on 17 July last year.
"Amid the changed circumstances, there are arguments for and against student politics. In that context, we have asked the DU administration for a policy on how this can be implemented," he explained.
He further added, "Once the university provides a policy, we will implement it in a way that addresses both the 'understanding' from that time and the current context."
Obstacles to implementation
On the question of whether there are obstacles to implementation, the associate professor said, "From a legal perspective, it can be viewed in two ways. The hall administration is responsible for the students. If the students and the hall administration agree to run the hall under a specific set of rules, there is no problem in the context of the hall."
"On the other hand, everyone has a legal right to be involved in politics. According to the law, any student or teacher of Dhaka University can be associated with a political party," he explained.
"However, if students and teachers collectively decide whether student politics should exist at the hall level, then they have the moral right to implement that decision," said Md Faruk Shah.
Student orgs request blueprint
A meeting was held on Sunday (10 August) between the university administration and 23 active student organisations on the issue of student politics in the residential halls.
The discussion included an initial talk about campus and hall politics and Ducsu (Dhaka University Central Students' Union), but no final decision was made.
At the meeting, the Ganotantrik Chhatra Sangsad demanded a ban on student politics in the academic areas and residential halls. However, some student organisations questioned whether the DU administration had the authority to ban student politics in this manner.
Most student organisations present at the meeting proposed that the university administration create a consensus-based blueprint that includes provisions to end the culture of guest rooms, gono rooms, and negative politics in the halls, and that the final decision should be based on the opinions of the general students, said a student leader present at the discussion.
Admin to hold further talks
Dhaka University's Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Professor Dr Sayema Haque Bidisha told TBS, "We have received many suggestions from both discussions. We will sit with the student organisations again. It was also suggested that we take the opinions of general students.
"In addition, we have asked the special committee to review political activities on campus, which we had formed earlier, to provide some recommendations soon."
The pro-VC added, "This work will not be prolonged. We will provide some guidelines on whether student politics will be in the halls very soon."
She further confirmed, "After the discussions are over, we will organise everything and publish it in writing."
