Celebrating 100 years of University of Dhaka: Expectation vs reality

It is a great milestone for any institute to celebrate its birth centenary. This landmark is even more significant to this nation and its people since the very establishment of this university has its roots in historic events that epitomise the struggle against inequality, injustice, and oppression.

The brave journey that the people of Eastern Bengal initiated to uphold the right to self-determination and human dignity continued up until the birth of this glorious nation and so forth.

The reason I dragged the historical significance of this university into this conversation is that the majority of our perception of the University of Dhaka is largely shaped by such narratives. In the early days of my university life as a student, I was full of pride as I considered myself one of the proud successors of the best minds that this nation ever produced.

My false pride faded with time when I started to witness mediocrity among my peers, among student leaders, and even within myself.

To be honest, I once again felt the same excitement and delight when I visited the "Teachers' Lounge of Arts Faculty" after joining as a faculty member two years back. I met and spoke to Professors whom I never thought of even seeing in person in my wildest dreams.

I could literally picture Professor Razzaq speaking to his colleagues and pupils in his very own way with a cup of tea in his hand in that lounge. I thought to myself - this campus has the footprints of great intellectuals like Satyendra Nath Bose, Qazi Motahar Hossain, and Serajul Islam Chowdhury.

Such strong feelings of mine started to fade when I was hit with bitter reality – the reality that our academic progress, collectively, is not satisfactory, the reality that we do not have enough research funds, the reality that our students suffer from the absence of a good academic environment, the reality that we have not done enough for our students amidst a brutal pandemic.

As a student or a teacher, we must ask two questions to better comprehend the situation and sketch out directions for future days. The first question we must ask is whether this university has had a substantial impact on the lives, livelihoods, and lifestyle of the people of this region during the last 100 years academically, socially, and politically.

The university will pass with letter marks if scrutinised from the social and political impact lens. However, the graph of improvement is sinking. But academically, there are massive scopes of improvement. This statement, however, should not undermine individual scholars' tireless and continuous effort to uphold the dignity of this institution.

Also, when I say we are not doing good – I do not refer to the faculty members scholarly contribution only. The students and the alumni must learn to contribute towards their beloved institution as well. I must say this out loud that the students must learn to become university students first and engage themselves in productive and thought-provoking discussions both in and outside of classrooms.

It is disappointing to see how the students detach themselves from any and all scholarly work and attend classes and exams to obtain a degree only. The alumni who hold important and vital positions in different offices must bring research and innovative projects to this university that will mutually benefit his/her organisation and the university.

The second question we must ask ourselves is whether we are stepping in the right direction. Answering this question with a direct no or yes is difficult but let's be hopeful. On the birth centenary, the university is funding almost 250 research projects, which is commendable.

Previously, a master plan for infrastructure development was prepared. A detailed plan for academic and administrative development was also sketched out. An ICT cell has been set up, which under the vibrant leadership of a Director, is slowly but steadily digitising the overall operation of the University.

Let this achievement not conceal the fact that, empathy, tolerance, and mutual respect are missing agendas here. The institution is yet to open its doors to the world to become cosmopolitan in the truest sense. The university has failed to play its primary role as a civil society organisation as well.

We all expect to live in a utopia; unfortunately, the reality is harsh and difficult. The struggle of a university located in a third-world country is not something unusual. But we must continue to explore and examine whether despite all the constraints – financial, administrative, political; are we doing everything in our capacity to improve the situation?

We must ask ourselves "Have we tried everything within our limits?" Because we will learn to push our limits and exceed our expectations only when we try. We will break the shackles of a broken system and build a new one only when we will learn to act against all the odds. Therefore, our quest for excellence must continue in the post centenary era of the University of Dhaka.

Awfa Islam is a Lecturer, Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies, University of Dhaka

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.