The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Educationalists, professionals and students at a roundtable yesterday urged the Dhaka University (DU) authority to cancel immediately the decision on the admission of madrasa students into several departments of the university.

They termed the move to bar the admission of madrasa students to some departments of DU 'unconstitutional' and 'ill motivated'.

Madrassa students should not be barred in the tertiary education as it is their fundamental rights for taking admission into DU through competitive admission test and they are entitled to get equal opportunities for higher education, they argued.

The roundtable on " Discrimination in Higher Education and Development of Bangladesh" was organised by the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) at The BIAM auditorium.

Prof Moniruzzaman Mian, former Vice Chancellor (VC) of DU was present as chief guest while Dr Rezwan Siddiqui, president of SAMPROSARAN and former Director General of Bangladesh Press Institute moderated the discussion.

Speakers said that there should not be any discrimination against any section of students for getting admission into the university.

The DU admission rules that barred madrassa students from seeking admission to several departments are' illogical', 'unjust and 'discriminatory' and such discrimination will deprive the meritorious madrassa students of the opportunity of getting tertiary education, they noted. Prof Moniruzzaman Mian said the madrassa students should be given equal opportunities for taking admission into some departments of the university along with the students of other disciplines. He termed the move unfair and illegal.

The departments that attached strings for the admission of madrassa students are English, Bengali, Economics, Mass Communication and Journalism, International Relations, Women and Gender Studies and Linguistics.

The departments would not allow students for seeking admission who did not study for 200 marks in English and Bengali each in Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) or equivalent examinations.

The roundtable was attended, among others, by Prof Qazi Zaker Hossain, Pofessor Emeritus, department of Zoology of DU, Prof Choudhury Mahmood Hasan, department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry of DU, Moulana Zainul Abedin, Principal, Tamirul Millat Kamil Madrassa, Prof Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, Chairman, department of Public Administration of DU, Prof M Muzahidul Islam, Chairman, department of Banking, Prof Dr Ruhul Amin, department of Physiology of Dhaka Medical College, Prof Dr Haider Ali, Prof Mohamamd Ali, of BUET, Barrister Naser Alam, Dr Chowdhury Mahmudul Hasan, department of English of DU, Md Mahbubur Rahman, lecturer, department of Political Science of DU and Md Moniruzzaman of Madrassa Chhatra Odikar Sangrakhan Committee.