DU admission tests
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I would like to draw your kind attention to the revised DU admission guidelines 2008-2009 of Kha and Gha units. Along with the existing three departments Bangla, English and Mass Communication and Journalism a few more departments have imposed some admission prerequisites, which go against the fundamental rights of a large section of students of the country. The revised admission guidelines 2008-2009 of Kha and Gha units have stipulated that only those students will be eligible for admission in the Departments of Bangla, English, Linguistics, International Relations, Public Administration, Women and Gender Studies, and Mass Communication and Journalism who had 200 marks in Bangla and English each at the HSC level. As students from the madrassa education system do not have 200 marks in Bangla and English each, this precondition will obviously bar them from studying these valued subjects. It is worth mentioning here that Alim students of the madrassa system study the same Bangla and English books prescribed by the NCTB that are followed by their college counterparts. Additionally, the Department of Economics has stipulated that the aspiring students should have Economics at HSC/Alim level and that 'Islamic Economics' is not an alternative to 'Economics'. This particular prerequisite is absurd as madrassa students study almost the same topics of economics taught at college, the only difference being that the title of their course is 'Islamic Economics' not 'Economics' (needless to say, they study some additional topics relating to 'Islamic economics'). This prerequisite is particularly ridiculous given that the subject of Islamic economics is gaining ground both in the East and West as a formidable academic discipline. Dhaka University is at the centre of imagination of the entire student population of Bangladesh. Students from alia madrassa background have been doing equally well, if not better than those from college background, in the university and have been serving the nation in different capacities, which include teaching at almost all the universities of the country and even in the departments of English, Law, Mass Communication and Journalism, Sociology, and International Relations of the University of Dhaka. Depriving madrassa students of studying some of the important subjects of the faculties of arts and social sciences of DU will do a great disservice to the nation, as it will be a blatant violation of their fundamental rights. What is more, madrassa students go through the same admission tests, where their proficiency in Bangla and English is rigorously tested. It may be mentioned here that madrassa students have been doing well in the admission tests. For example, in 2006-2007 a madrassa student named Abdullah al-Aman stood first in Gha Unit, and second in Kha Unit securing 28.5 out of 30 in English. For the sake of clarity and fairness, an investigation may be conducted to see how madrassa students have been doing in the Departments that have intended to bar them from studying those subjects. In all likelihood, it may be found that madrassa students in most of the departments at Dhaka University have been doing well. For example, it has been reported to me that for the last few years madrassa students have secured top positions in the merit lists of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism. Despite these commendable academic records, imposing the unnecessary, additional '200 marks prerequisite' will be deemed as not impartial by the madrassa students. I seek the kind intervention of the DU authorities and others concerned in this matter.
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