Turning blind eye to CU

Squally winds during rain drench classrooms as windowpanes are broken. Teachers take classes keeping broken doors open, amid disturbance on the corridors.

Walls are worn-out and take days to get dried after rains.

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This is the old arts faculty building at Chittagong University, not renovated since its establishment in 1996.

About 5000 students of ten departments attend classes in the dilapidated building.

Many students apprehend a disaster as happened at Jagannath Hall in Dhaka in 1980s, in which scores of students were killed.

Many of the classrooms lack adequate desks or benches for students. Teachers also face problem in delivering lectures for want of dais.

Lights and fans often remain out of order.

Toilet facility and sanitation system are also deplorable. Toilets are inadequate both for male and female students.

Moreover, most of those remain unusable because of stench and filth due to lack of maintenance. Menials blame those on irregular water supply.

Sometimes snakes enter into the building.

Since its establishment, the Arts Faculty building housed three faculties till the first half of last year, when commerce and social science faculties were shifted to new buildings. Till that time, the building had accommodated about nine thousands students.

Sources said, the university authorities made several attempts for monetary allocation from the government for its repair and renovation, but to no effect.

Some sources in the university's engineering department also claimed that besides lack of renovation and maintenance, faulty construction plan is also responsible for the present wretched condition of the building.

Several other buildings on the campus, built during Pakistan period have structural faults, they claimed.

The building designs are not suitable for a country like ours with plenty of rains, they said.

The roofs were constructed in such a way that rainwater stagnates and the drainage pipes are also too narrow, they said.

The previous administration made an effort to construct a new arts faculty building. As they failed to select a land for it, they decided to renovate the building. But the decision is yet to be implemented.

The sources in the engineering department said renovation including procurement of new furniture for classrooms and teachers will cost only Tk two crore.

When contacted pr-Vice Chancellor Prof Dr M Shamsuddin said the university authorities are keen to renovate the building but it can not be done for lack of funds.

"We are preparing a report and will submit a proposal to the authorities concerned for funds for renovation".