Deadlock at Bhasani University
Time for experts to strike a balance
The 220 students of Food Technology and Nutritional Science (FTNS) department of Maolana Bhasani University of Science and Technology (MBUST) in Tangail have kept themselves away from classes for the last four months demanding BSc (engineering) degree instead of BSc (honours) degree.
The FTNS students have also decided to keep themselves away from the semester final examinations supposed to begin on November 28.
Demanding engineering degree, students of all years of FTNS department started boycotting their classes on July 12 this year.
They held a series agitation programmes including human chain, sit-in, token hunger strike and press conferences on and outside the campus to press for their demand.
On September 21, they locked the administrative building and kept the vice chancellor and 150 other teachers and staff confined to their offices.
Law enforcers freed the vice chancellor and others by dispersing the agitating students through baton charge in front of the administrative building after five hours.
Fifteen students of FTNS department were injured during the incident and police arrested 11 students of the department. The university authorities also filed a case against 30 students of the department including the 11 arrestees under Speedy Trial Act.
The university authorities on the same day declared all the activities including classes and examinations of FTNS department suspended and banned presence of students of the department on the campus for indefinite period.
Since then, the FTNS students have remained outside the campus amid grave concern over their uncertain future, said Nurunnabi Siddique, a third year student of FTNS department. “We have already lost a full semester,” he added.
Several students of the department said although many universities of home and abroad give engineering degree to the FTNS students, the students of MBUST are yet to get it due to non-cooperation of several teachers of the university including a few department teachers.
Refuting the allegations, Rokeya Begum, chairman of FTNS department, said they cannot give engineering degree to the students as it is not covered in their existing syllabus.
“We had sent letters to eight experts [senior teachers] of different universities in the country for their opinion about the matter and they gave negative opinions about the students' demand,” she added.
FTNS students, on the other hand, said the questions in the letters sent by the department chairman were made in such a way that the experts had to give negative opinions about giving engineering degree.
Claiming that they also went to 'experts' who gave opinion in favour of them, students said the letters for experts' opinions should be sent through a neutral committee formed by the University Grants Commission.
Vice Chancellor Prof M Nurul Islam said they could not resume the activities of FTNS department so far due to non-cooperation of the students.
"I have got negative opinions from the experts and the FTNS students should understand it. If the students continue running on such a wrong track, the FTNS department can be closed,” he added.
He, however, declined to disclose the names of experts.
When contacted, Prof Mozammel Haque, chairman of food engineering department of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, said his university gives engineering degree to their food department students.
“As per the existing course, the FTNS students of MBUST should not be given engineering degree. But the engineering degree can be arranged after an amendment to add several engineering courses in the syllabus,” he said.
“Responding to a letter from the FTNS department of MBUST about the degree renaming issue, I have already sent my opinion. As the FTNS students have lost their confidence on the honours degree, it would be better to provide engineering degree for the sake of their job satisfaction in professional life.”
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