Editorial
Good news at DU
May the backlog fully subside
The reduction of session backlog at Dhaka University is welcome news. Where a three to four year degree used to take five to eight years to complete, now the average extent of "session jam" at the university is about six months. That, too, it is claimed, will be done away with under the current circumstances. In several departments of some faculties, there is said to be no session jam at all.
This hugely positive change has been attributed to a peaceful environment on campus, accompanied by the introduction of semester system -- as opposed to the traditional year system -- and the holding of regular classes and examinations. While the first factor, unfortunately, is not in the control of the university authorities, the others are largely so and one may wonder why it took so long for these changes to be made. But, as the saying goes, better late than ever.
Our students, especially those of public universities, have been some of the worst affected of our nation's political instability, their education not only prolonged to the point of hindering their careers and, in many cases, causing suffering to their families, but also by the deaths and injuries caused by political violence on campus. The seriousness of teachers in regularly taking classes, etc., was also wanting in many cases, according to students and even news reports over the years which claimed that university teachers were foregoing their primary duties for the sake of financial incentives elsewhere -- something that seems to have improved with the structured semester system requirements.
We sincerely hope that this situation, aided by an overall drive for timely entry into careers, will prevail at all educational institutions. Disrupted and delayed education can only mean the disrupted and delayed growth of our future and that is something no nation can afford, least of all ours.
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