7 colleges to Dhaka Central University: What’s the hold up, and why are students, teachers still protesting?
With teachers demanding an affiliating-university model and students split between immediate implementation, revision or total rejection, the proposed plan is now in limbo
On 13 October, hundreds of students from seven government colleges in Dhaka once again took to the streets, marching towards the Shikkha Bhaban. On the same day, at Dhaka College, there were a couple of clashes that led to a teacher being harassed and a higher secondary student being assaulted.
In protest, the BCS General Education Association announced a nationwide strike. Teachers across government colleges wore black badges and halted work for a day on 14 October.
Md Dellur Rahman, associate professor and secretary of the association's Dhaka College unit, said, "While a discussion was taking place in the teachers' lounge, some students vandalised the glass panels and shouted offensive slogans. Later, a meeting was held, and it was decided that all government colleges across the country would observe a complete work stoppage."
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All these protests and incidents are centred around one issue: an ordinance for the Dhaka Central University (DCU), a proposed merger of the seven major government colleges — Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Begum Badrunnessa Government Girls' College, Government Titumir College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Kabi Nazrul Government College, and Government Bangla College.
The proposed plan
The seven colleges were initially affiliated with the National University. In 2017, they were brought under the purview of the University of Dhaka (DU). That move, however, created confusion and conflict over exams, results and administrative control.
Earlier this year, the seven colleges broke free from DU-affiliation, and later, upon weeks of protest, the education ministry proposed an independent university consisting of the seven colleges.
"The proposed structure could actually shrink opportunities. As university systems tend to be selective, thousands of students from modest backgrounds could lose access to affordable education."
The ministry invited public opinions on the proposed university structure and later announced that it had received more than 6,000 responses. It also stated that consultation meetings would be held soon.
Later, it published a draft of the ordinance for the proposed university. Under the draft ordinance, the new university would divide the seven colleges into four academic schools. The School of Science would include Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, and Begum Badrunnessa College; the School of Arts and Humanities would be based at Government Bangla College; the School of Business at Titumir College; and the School of Law and Justice at Kabi Nazrul and Suhrawardy Colleges.
It would follow a "hybrid model", with 35–40% of classes online and the rest in person, while all examinations would be held on campus.
But what began as an administrative solution has since turned into another source of disagreement and conflict. Teachers and students are at odds, each viewing the same proposal from very different perspectives.
What do teachers want?
Teachers from the seven colleges fear that the new system will disrupt long-standing academic traditions, reduce seats for students, and even eliminate their own posts. Members of the BCS General Education Cadre, who have taught at these colleges for decades, warn that the ordinance may erase their status altogether once the institutions become university campuses.
Professor Md Masud Rana Khan, the member secretary of the BCS General Education Association, cautioned that the plan would "widen inequality within the education cadre and push the system into deeper uncertainty."
His association proposed instead that the government create an affiliating university, similar to the National University model, where the colleges would retain autonomy but still fall under a shared academic framework.
Professor Khan also noted that women's education could suffer.
"Both Eden Mohila College and Begum Badrunnessa Government Girls College have historically provided safe and affordable higher education for women. If they are absorbed into a co-educational system, many female students would hesitate to study there," he explained.
He further noted that the ordinance excludes members of the education cadre from being considered university teachers, yet the university has not recruited its own staff.
This raises practical questions about who will teach the upcoming batches and how exams will be conducted.
Teachers argue that the proposal mirrors the Jagannath University transition, which, after nearly two decades, still struggles with inadequate infrastructure and staffing.
Students divided
While teachers push for preservation, students remain divided.
On one side are those demanding immediate implementation of the ordinance. They argue that after years of delays and uncertainty, the time has come to move forward.
On the other side are students who see the draft as rushed and unrepresentative.
Two opposing student groups held demonstrations on 13 October. One group marched towards the Shikkha Bhaban chanting for prompt enactment of the ordinance, while another held a "March for Peace and Unity", opposing what they called "mob-style protests".
Students of Eden Mohila College held a press conference last month, rejecting the ordinance outright. They demanded an "Oxford University model", where each college retains autonomy and sufficient staffing.
"We want dialogue, not disorder. Withdraw the draft immediately and take realistic steps toward a fair solution. Do not force us onto the streets," they announced in a statement.
The students warned that co-education at Eden would undermine women's education and erase a century-old tradition of the college.
In different sittings at Titumir College, one group has supported the ordinance as it is, while another has wanted it revised to preserve each college's identity. Yet another group has demanded a separate Titumir University altogether.
Another stakeholder of these colleges are the students of the higher secondary level. Of these seven colleges, currently, five admit students at the HSC level, with the exception of Eden and Titumir.
However, the ministry has proposed that if the university is established, the HSC students will have the college from 8am to 12pm, followed by university classes afterwards from 1pm to 7pm.
The students of Dhaka college have raised concerns about the practicality of this "time-sharing" system.
Contradictions and uncertainty
Due to these conflicting interests — the teachers' strikes and the students' opposing protests, the enactment of the ordinance is struggling to find balance. Each side claims to defend education, yet all find themselves locked in a stalemate.
Another gap causing the debate is the lack of proper consultation. Even though the ministry claimed that it had received over 6,000 opinions, stakeholders — primarily teachers and students — alleged that they were not properly included in the process. Some even suspect that the move benefits private education interests, not public ones.
Broadly, one group of students seeks to retain the autonomy of the colleges, while another group, along with the ministry itself, wants a total restructuring of the colleges under different schools.
On the other hand, the teachers want a system that does not harm autonomy, while keeping their positions at those colleges, under a "National University model", which also does not come at the cost of accessibility, affordability and identity.
"The proposed structure could actually shrink opportunities. As university systems tend to be selective, thousands of students from modest backgrounds could lose access to affordable education," said Professor Khan. He reminded that the decision might face a similar situation to what happened to Jagannath University: after its upgrade, seats decreased, and accessibility declined. It also shrank opportunities for the education cadre teachers.
Dhaka's seven government colleges together educate more than 150,000 students. According to Professor Khan, the number of students getting the opportunity to study in these colleges will shrink if a university is established in the proposed manner.
Thus, more and more students are likely to have to opt for the private institutions, which could ultimately undermine the students from lower-income families.
