DU freshers struggle in long queues over offline dept, hall fees payment

Dhaka University (DU) freshers have been facing difficulties despite a digitalised tuition fee payment system. The department and hall fees remain offline, causing long queues and a struggle for new students.

While securing admission to a top public university like DU is a feat in itself, the selected students from the 2023-24 session encountered further hurdles after their acceptance.

Although the admission fee payment process was conveniently online, the requirement to pay department and hall fees offline resulted in long waiting times and frustration.

The scorching heat added to the stress of navigating lengthy queues. 

Rakib, a Management Information System freshman, shared his experience, "Paying the department and hall fees was a nightmare.

"A process that should have taken a day stretched to two, or even three days for some. Coming all the way from Sylhet, it was chaotic. The chairman wasn't present on the first day, forcing us to return with documents the next day."

He added, "On the first day, I stood in line for four hours in the scorching heat just to submit the fees. Even the next day, the provost arrived late and asked us to come back after 3pm.

"Completing the formalities and submitting fees at the bank took another long wait. These two days were extremely stressful, especially after the online submission of tuition fees."

The lack of coordination among the DU authorities appears to be a contributing factor to the chaos.

The short three-day window allocated to complete the admission process for all units, starting from 10 June, further worsened the situation. This resulted in delays and a sense of disorganisation among the students.

Ayon, another student from the Information Science and Library Management department, echoed the general sentiment, "Everything felt mismanaged. It definitely wasn't a smooth process. While I submitted the online fees on 11 June, the remaining fees involved going to Sonali Bank.

"There were at least 150 students ahead of me in the queue. I waited for four hours just to pay the fees."

The admission test for the 2023-2024 academic year was held between 23 February and 9 March. The results of all units were declared on 28 March.

In a positive development, though, Prof Md Mostafizur Rahman, the admission committee convenor, acknowledged the issue.

He said, "The tuition fee payment process is digital, but the department and hall fees remain offline. We've discussed this with the vice-chancellor and decided to make the entire process digital from next year to ease the burden on students.

"Additionally, the division-level admission exam has already been implemented, reducing some of the earlier struggles faced by students."