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RANGPUR: Students of the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences at Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR), began a hunger strike on Sunday demanding an end to the prolonged session jam and timely completion of their academic activities.
The students launched the strike around 11am in front of the main gate of Academic Building-2, putting forward a five-point set of demands to address what they described as persistent academic delays.
Their demands include completing the fourth-year first-semester final examinations by November and the second-semester examinations by March 30; publishing examination results within four to six weeks of the completion of each semester; ensuring that no student faces discrimination or retaliation in marks or evaluation for participating in the movement; and providing a written commitment from the university administration to implement the demands.
The students said they would continue the hunger strike until the university takes effective steps to restore academic discipline, ensure timely publication of results and resolve the session jam.
A protesting student said the third-year first-semester examinations for the 2021-22 academic session began in the second week of November last year and ended in the first week of December. However, the results had not been published even after nearly 10 months, creating uncertainty among students.
Another student said the prolonged delay had disrupted their academic plans and created uncertainty about their future.
Md Mostafizur Rahman, head of the department, acknowledged that the department was facing a session jam for several reasons, including shortages of teachers and classrooms.
“We need five laboratories, but currently have only two,” he said.
He said the department had recently initiated discussions with students to address the problems but expressed surprise at the decision of students from the 2021-22 academic session to launch a hunger strike.
Regarding the delayed results, Professor Dr Mosha Sifat Rumana, chairman of the examination committee for the 2021-22 academic year, said the delay was partly due to teachers taking additional time to submit marks.
“As the chairman of the examination committee, I am not solely responsible for all the work,” she said, adding that the results were expected to be published on Sunday.
Professor Dr Md Ferdous Rahman, registrar with additional responsibility at the university, said the institution was facing several challenges and limitations but was taking steps to address them.
“The results of the first semester of the third year are now being processed for publication,” he said.
He said the university had taken an initiative to complete each semester within six months.
“If necessary, students have agreed to attend classes on Fridays and public holidays,” he said, expressing hope that the academic backlog would be cleared soon.