Chhatra Dal unveils manifesto for Ducsu: 73 pledges in 10 declarations

Highlights

• Abolition of guest room, mass room culture
• Coexistence of students of all religions, castes
• Terrorism, extortion, illegal occupation-free campus
• Removal of evening restrictions in women's halls
• Expansion of infrastructure
• Seat and study table for every student

For the upcoming Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) election, the Chhatra Dal-supported panel has officially announced the first manifesto. The manifesto prioritises students' safety, academic development, and 'campus culture'.

The manifesto states that by abolishing the culture of "guest rooms" and "mass rooms" and ending political repression, the campus will be freed from terrorism and drugs. 

In terms of campus facilities and cultural development, the pledges include new halls to ensure seats and study tables for all students, subsidised and nutritious meals in canteens, eco-friendly infrastructure, and green initiatives. It also commits to sports, cultural activities, international exchange programmes, and regular Ducsu elections.

Abidul Islam, the vice president candidate from the Chhatra Dal panel, read out the manifesto yesterday at a press conference held at the historic Bat-tala premises of the university.

The manifesto include the following proposals:

• Creative initiatives so that every student remembers their time at Dhaka University as the most valuable, educative, and joyful period of their life.
   
• Permanent abolition of practices like guest room attendance/mass room culture, forced political participation, and repression, freeing the campus from terrorism, extortion, and illegal occupation.
   
• Ensuring coexistence and rights of students of all religions, castes, and beliefs in a fearless and harmonious environment.
   
• Infrastructure expansion and construction of new classrooms to resolve classroom shortages.
   
• Formation of an independent "Student Protection Cell" under Ducsu to prevent harassment, ragging, hate, and misinformation both online and offline, and the launch of an emergency 24/7 helpline for students' urgent needs.
   
• Preventing unauthorised entry of drug addicts, vagrants, and outsiders into the campus, installing CCTV cameras throughout, ensuring lighting at night, and banning non-students from residential halls through special monitoring cells.
   
• Construction of new halls so that every student gets "a seat and a study table" from the very day of admission, turning DU into a fully residential university.
   
• Effective measures to keep halls free of mosquitoes and bedbugs.
   
• Increasing subsidies on canteen food, ensuring nutritional value under the guidance of dietitians, and overall qualitative improvement of the environment and management.
   
• New canteens and cafeterias in faculties and departmental areas (such as Mokarram Building, Curzon Hall, etc) so all students have access to affordable, healthy meals.
   
• Guaranteeing female students' freedom of dress, prevention of sexual harassment, and utmost social dignity.
   
• Sanitary pad vending machines in women's halls under DU subsidy, with all cleaners to be women.
   
• Ensuring the presence of female doctors at the university medical centre and healthcare units in every women's hall.
   
• Strengthening campus security while abolishing evening rule in female halls, extending entry hours, and allowing female students to visit other women's halls.
   
• Simplifying emergency leave procedures from halls for female students without requiring local guardians' permission, allowing hall provost's approval instead.
   
• Allowing non-residential female students to stay overnight in halls with hall administration approval when necessary.
   
• Building low-cost hostels near campus for unemployed female graduates preparing for jobs.
   
• Creating a "Women's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund" to support female students' business ideas with mentorship, training, and start-up incubation.
   
• Upgrading DU medical centre infrastructure to ensure round-the-clock doctors, ambulances, pharmacies, and free essential medicines.
   
• Medical corners with 24/7 ambulance, emergency medicine, and first aid boxes in every hall.
   
• Bringing every student under affordable health insurance with transparent claim procedures.
   
• Establishing a "Mental Well-being Centre" at TSC to tackle student stress, depression, and trauma.
   
• Installing ramps in existing buildings for students with disabilities and ensuring Braille and other support systems in exams and academics.
   
• Forming a committee of students, teachers, and experts to regularly review the curriculum to keep pace with global standards, enhance credit transfer opportunities, and strengthen DU's International Office.
   
• Transforming the central library into a world-class facility with subscriptions to leading journals and tools, digitising the library system, and improving reading rooms in halls and departmental libraries.
   
• Providing internship opportunities through government and private linkages, engaging students in practical activities, and overall improving teaching quality.
   
• Launching optional practical courses on freelancing, ICT, soft skills, and foreign languages for employability.
   
• Creating industry-academia linkages to improve DU's position in global rankings.
   
• Introducing transparent teacher recruitment free of political bias or nepotism, with performance evaluation and adherence to international standards.
   
• Ensuring timely exams, results, and classes per academic calendar, while introducing online learning platforms with workshops, recorded lectures, and courses.
   
• Modernising laboratories, boosting research through public-private partnerships, alumni engagement, and increased funding.
   
• Providing separate accommodation and higher stipends for MPhil and PhD researchers.
   
• Introducing battery-run shuttle services inside DU, expanding student buses and routes, and introducing a mobile app with GPS tracking.
   
• Dividing the campus into green, yellow, and red zones to regulate vehicles and outsiders (green zones open, yellow restricted entry with ID, red zones fully prohibited).
   
• Digitising administrative services (certificates, transcripts, fees, etc), eliminating harassment, and setting up digital support desks.
   
• Launching merit-based scholarships and easy student loans through government, private, and alumni initiatives.
   
• Creating on-campus part-time job opportunities (cafeterias, libraries, registrar's office, gyms, research projects, tutorial support, etc).
   
• Strengthening the Career Development Centre to organise job fairs, on-site recruitment, and build a public-private placement network.
   
• Hosting regular seminars, symposiums, training, and motivational sessions with leading professionals and entrepreneurs.
   
• Supporting student entrepreneurship with start-up capital, mentorship, and shared workspaces.
   
• Promoting ethnic languages and cultures for inclusivity.
   
• Annual inter-department and inter-hall sports competitions, tournaments, gym modernisation, field and indoor facilities renovation, and support for national/international competitions.
   
• Suppressing drug cartels in the campus and Suhrawardy Udyan, promoting healthy entertainment like music, debates, comedy, and cultural events.
   
• Encouraging student participation in theatre, film, photography, recitation, literature, and arts.
   
• Increasing annual budget allocations for cultural, voluntary, and sports organisations at central, hall, and departmental levels.
   
• Hosting an annual "Youth Festival of Dhaka University."
   
• Increasing DU academic email storage and validity, free cloud storage, and ensuring access to international journals.
   
• Training students in Microsoft Office, Google apps, graphic design, video editing, and providing subscriptions to tools like Canva and Adobe after training.
   
• Workshops on AI, robotics, big data, and machine learning.
   
• Setting up a "Cyber Security Cell" for student protection and to prevent cyberbullying.
   
• Organising workshops on digital literacy, misinformation, and fake news.
   
• Forming a panel of lawyers to provide students with legal aid and counselling.
   
• Installing dustbins in all halls, canteens, academic buildings, and public spaces, and improving waste management.
   
• Protecting and enhancing DU's natural environment, canals, and greenery, with student-led greening campaigns.
   
• Making new DU infrastructure eco-friendly.
   
• Creating an animal-friendly campus with food and medical support for resident animals, preventing cruelty, and ensuring humane management.
   
• Including regular Ducsu elections in the academic calendar.
   
• Increasing opportunities for students to attend international Olympiads, conferences, seminars, and exchange programmes, with DU funding where necessary.