Bogra women's college limps

The academic activities of Government Mujibur Rahman Women's College, Bogra, are being hampered as the institution has been facing many problems for a long time.

The problems include shortage of teachers and classrooms, scarcity of buses, lack of exam hall and auditorium, and shortage of accommodation in the hostels.

The only women's college now crammed with over 12, 000 female students was established on July 31, 1963 and nationalised on February 1, 1978, college sources said.

“We have only 16 classrooms whereas we need at least 32 for 19 courses, including seven at Honours and seven at Masters' level, and 46 teachers are serving against the requirement of 56, though over 100 teachers are needed,” Vice-Principal Prof M Hasan Zahid told this correspondent.

He said each department needs at least 12 teachers, but most of them are facing shortage of teachers, classrooms, ICT rooms and other facilities.

From its birth, the college has been running with shortage of teachers, including commerce teachers.

 “Most of the commerce students of higher school certificate (HSC) course have been suffering due to the lack of commerce teachers, said Sadia Afrin, a second-year commerce student.

Sometimes, they have to sit idle as the hired commerce teachers from other colleges come late from their respective colleges for taking classes, she added.

Megna Khatun, a student of humanities of HSC second-year, said students who stay out of the campus face problems due to a lack of communication facility.

The four 52-seat buses are not enough to carry about 8,000 students from different places of the district, and at least two more buses and a microbus for teachers are needed for solving the transport problem, she added.

Sharmin Akhtar, a resident of Begum Rokeya Hall, said more halls need to be built soon as around 600 female students are staying in around 350 seats of the three hostels -- Begum Jahanara Rahman, Begum Rokeya and Moijannessa Bhandari -- in the campus of the college.

Around 8,000 students of the college have to accommodate themselves in around 400 private-run messes in areas near the college, she added.