The 2024-25 undergraduate admission to Rajshahi University faced uncertainty as and employees continued their work abstention for the second consecutive day on Thursday, demanding reinstatement of a 5 per cent quota for their children in admissions.
Boycotting their regular activities, the officials and employees also observed a two-hour sit-in from 10:00am to 12 noon in front of the university鈥檚 Syed Nazrul Islam Administration Building where they announced halting the emergency services such as electricity and water in the coming days if their demand was not met soon.
鈥榃e will continue our peaceful movement until the quota facility for our children is reinstated,鈥� said Md Riazuddin, office secretary of RU Officers鈥� Association.
Earlier on November 14, RU admission committee cancelled the quota facility for freedom fighters鈥� grandchildren, but retained the 5 per cent quota for their children for admission to undergraduate courses under the 2024-25 academic session.
It, however, decided to keep a 3 per cent ward quota for the children and grandchildren of the university teachers, officials and employees.
Protesting at the decision, a group of students started a hunger strike in front of the grave of professor Sayed Mohammad Shamsuzzoha on the same day.
The students later postponed their hunger strike after the university officials assured them of forming a committee to review the decision.
On January 1, the admission committee cancelled the quota for teachers and officials鈥� children but retained a 1 per cent ward quota for the children of Class III and Class IV employees.
The students then staged a protest on the following day, locking the main entrance.
After 12-hour confinement by students, the university vice-chancellor, professor Saleh Hasan Naqib, declared complete abolishing of the quota facility for the university teachers, officials, and employees for undergraduate admissions.
On January 4, in a press release, the university authorities then postponed the preliminary application process for the first-year admission, scheduled to begin on January 5 and to end on January 16.
Although two weeks have already elapsed since the postponement, the university authorities are yet to set a specific date when the online submission of the preliminary applications will begin, leading to uncertainty about holding the admission tests on the scheduled dates.
According to the earlier decision, the entrance tests are scheduled to be held on April 12, 19, and 26.
The university teachers and officials said that a three or four-month preparation is required to arrange the entrance tests successfully as the admission test process was usually completed in several stages.
RU public relations office administrator professor Akhtar Hossain Mazumder told 抖阴精品 that a meeting of the university admission committee was necessary for publishing a revised admission circular, seeking online preliminary applications.
Muhammad Belal Hossain, dean of arts faculty and a member of the admission committee, told 抖阴精品 that he had not received any letter from the university authorities till Thursday evening for the admission committee meeting.
Contacted, RU vice-chancellor Saleh Hasan Naqib said, 鈥榃e are trying relentlessly to hold the 2024-25 undergraduate admission tests on scheduled dates,鈥� he added.
