Modelled after Buet, Sylhet Engineering College is a story of 15 years of neglect

Sylhet Engineering College, modelled after the country's most prestigious institution Buet, has been struggling for 15 years due to a persistent shortage of manpower. 

Despite having modern laboratories and sufficient infrastructure, the promising engineering institution heavily relies on guest teachers.

Out of the 70 positions at the college, established in 2005 on an eight-acre piece of land adjacent to the Sylhet Agricultural University during the then four-party coalition government, 50 positions, including those of the principal and registrar, remain vacant.

The college, affiliated with Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, initiated its educational programs in 2008, and it is confronted by numerous other challenges.

The demand to elevate the college to a comprehensive engineering university has been longstanding. In response to this plea from students and local residents, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pledged to transform it into an engineering university during a public gathering in Sylhet before the 2018 parliamentary elections. Regrettably, no action has been undertaken in this regard since that time.

The college, established at a cost of Tk200 crore on the initiative undertaken by former finance minister M Saifur Rahman, provides honours education in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), Civil Engineering, and Computer Science and Engineering (CSE). Presently, the total number of students across these three departments is 650.

The college boasts self-sufficiency in terms of infrastructure, encompassing three academic buildings, a library, an administrative building, as well as the principal's residence, faculty and staff accommodations, along with two male and one female residential halls.

The library has books worth Tk35 lakh, while the lab is equipped with 90 computers. However, the price of the computers was not known. 

Despite its ample infrastructure, the shortage of manpower has led to a number of problems. 

The college has modern laboratories in every department, but they are left unused due to a lack of lab technicians. This means that students are unable to get the hands-on experience they need to succeed in their studies.

According to the administration, the college has never had a dedicated principal. The principal of Sylhet Polytechnic College has been shouldering the responsibilities of both institutions for an extended period of time.

In addition to the principal, a significant number of teaching, officer, and employee positions remain vacant. Temporary officers and employees are currently managing the administrative operations.

According to sources, the college has three professorial positions, yet no appointments have been made to any of these positions thus far.

Out of the eight available associate professor positions, only two have been filled. One of these associate professors is Abdur Rauf, who also serves as the chairman of the CSE department and is currently fulfilling the role of acting principal.

Furthermore, out of the 15 available assistant professor positions, only seven have been occupied, and out of the 16 lecturer positions, eight have been filled. Consequently, there are only a total of 15 teachers in contrast to the 44 available positions.

Furthermore, there are only three individuals currently employed to fill 26 positions for officers and employees.

Rahel Ahmed, a student, pointed out that the primary issue at this college is the scarcity of teachers. Occasionally, instructors from outside visit to conduct classes, but their attendance is irregular. Consequently, the completion of a semester often extends beyond the designated timeframe.

Another student residing in a hostel mentioned that the canteen within their hall has been closed since the inception.

"There is no food available. As a result, we have to purchase food from outside. Nighttime is particularly challenging for meals," he added.

In addition, the college does not have its own transport system, so students have to rely on public transportation to get to and from campus. This can be difficult and time-consuming, especially for female students. 

Md Salim, acting registrar of Sylhet Engineering College, said, "I am overseeing the operations here. There is no other official present apart from me. Initially, due to the absence of recruitment regulations for the college, we were unable to hire personnel. However, recruitment rules have now been formulated, and the process of recruiting manpower has commenced."

Acting principal Abdur Rauf mentioned that the appointment of personnel at the college is managed by the Public Service Commission (PSC). "We have notified the ministry about the prevailing crisis, and they have assured us of manpower recruitment," he added.

Abdur Rauf also noted that teachers from Shahjalal University conduct classes at the college consistently. 

He emphasised that the remaining issues are also stemming from the shortage of manpower. He believes these problems will be resolved once appointments are made.

The acting principal said the course curriculum of the college had been developed in line with the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology with the objective of transforming the institution into a full-fledged university.