‘The authorities are more interested in constructing buildings than facilitating research’

Mujahidul Islam Selim, President of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and former vice president of Ducsu spoke with The Business Standard on the 100-year celebration of the University of Dhaka.

TBS: How has DU changed from the time you were a student to what it is now?

MIS: I frequented Dhaka University campus when I was a college student and it became the centre of our activities. We used to participate in different demonstrations and cultural activities and so on. 

I was a student when Dhaka University was around 50 years old. The time before I got admitted in the university and my university days and subsequent years were the golden age. Because, alongside the academic activity, the university played a historic role in the national political landscape. Be it education or national crisis, the university was always at the forefront.

Now, the academic excellence has diminished. The leading position of the university in the political, social and cultural scene has deteriorated. It happened because our society, state and economy began to rot. 

In such a situation, no parts of the society can be spared from going astray. The whole education system has been affected by the decadence. In other words, we can also say that Dhaka University has been allowed to rot. This is very sad.              

TBS: In recent years, DU has often taken flak for excess politicisation of its teaching and student bodies. And yet, the university is also acclaimed for its pivotal role in the great political upheavals of this country. How do you distinguish between the two and what in your view is a healthy political role a university can play?

MIS: I can say, 95% students of the university have unquestionable integrity and patriotism. They have love for the people of the country. They have a progressive mindset. These 95% students are also very meritorious. 

However, to prevent these 95% students from acting on their patriotism, only 5% of so-called students are working. These are the ruling party's thugs. They are controlling the university with muscle power. There were ruling party thugs in my time too. But, they could not take control of the university. 

Now the so-called students have taken control of the university with the help of the administration and political parties. When BNP came in power, the Chhatra Dal did it; Awami League came in power, now Chhatra League does it.

To create a healthy political environment, the university authority will have to lift all kinds of bans in the university so that the student wings of all political parties can hold cultural activities and political debates. 

The university will have to make sure that the student bodies can hold elections on a regular basis. It will have to include the date of the Ducsu election in the academic calendar too.   

TBS: In its 100 years, was there ever a period when DU played a strong role in producing international standard academic research? Why has research been consistently ignored at the country's premier university?

MIS: Before I got admitted into university, there were many teachers like physicist SN Bose and their research works made the university stand out. For their contribution, Dhaka University was once dubbed as the Oxford of the East. 

The university was compared to Oxford University for its academic success. This went on till the middle of the 70s, the research works were remarkable. In our times too, the marks allocated on research works were higher. 

But later it has shrunk dramatically. The university authority is busy spending more on construction of buildings, opening new departments, and giving less importance to research.        

TBS: As the Bangladesh economy grows impressively and we are heading towards becoming a middle income country do you feel DU is providing the right sort of education and preparing students adequately for the new job market? What can be done to address the gaps?

MIS: The government says the per capita income is increasing. The government is showing us the GDP growth rate. The per capita income actually gives us a misconception. Some people are getting richer, the rest of the people are starving. 

We have to change our state's philosophy to what was in the time of the war of independence. We will have to get back to the path we chose and that needs a revolution. The war of independence has not ended. The war of independence has gone missing.      

TBS: In the near future do you think private universities will replace DU as the premier academic institution in the country or has that already happened?

MIS: Impossible. Private universities are fully commercialised. My son and my son-in-law and my daughter and my daughter-in-law are all teachers at private universities and Dhaka University. I heard that the private university students behave like they do not need to study. The attitude is like, 'My father is paying Tk10 lakh for every semester. Give me my certificate.' Of course, there are exceptions.

TBS: How do you view the university's shift towards commercialisation in recent years, exemplified by the numerous evening courses offered by different departments? 

MIS: The university authority should not have allowed evening courses. To maintain the quality of education, we have to maintain the teacher-student ratio. There is an accepted standard. If you keep one teacher for  100 students, it will not be justified. The university authorities should close the evening courses. 

There should be an open entry in the university. We placed a proposal soon after the war of independence for keeping an open entry for professional courses. If someone has to drop out of education, he or she can get admitted ten years later. Why would they have to give a high amount of money for education? It must be free.     

TBS: Do you think DU should continue to be heavily subsidised by the government or should the authorities shift towards generating more of its own income such as by raising tuition fees for students?

MIS: The people are providing the government with money as a form of taxes. Why do we give the government taxes? We give the government taxes for getting service from it. The government will have to provide us with that service. 

We are giving the government money in advance. Why will the students pay tuition fees? 

TBS: We sometimes hear shocking stories of gross negligence on the part of teachers and officials at DU. What can be done to improve the general level of accountability at the institution?

MIS: There are many mechanisms to improve the accountability at Dhaka University. The university authority can introduce feedback from the students on the performance of a teacher. 

On the contrary, promotion of a teacher depends on the singing the praises of the government. The democratic functioning should be put in place. There should be no government interference.