Female students crammed in a 'Mass Room' of Pritilata Hall of Chittagong University. The picture was taken recently. Photo: Anurup Kanti Das

With number of students increasing, residential problem in Chittagong University (CU) is mounting day by day.
Around 15,000, out of 20,000, students are deprived of residential facilities causing unbearable suffering to them. Only about 22 per cent enjoys residential facilities on the campus.
The third largest university of the country started its journey in 1966 with seven teachers and 202 students.
There are only around 4,231 seats in ten dormitories, seven for male and three for female students.
Large number of students are facing serious accommodation crisis as they find it difficult to get a place in the dormitories. The residential halls remained crammed with students of previous years due to sessions jam.
Economically backward and female students are the worst victim of this crisis. A large number of students are being forced to reside in the city mostly with their own management which is not easy for a female student.
It takes around one and a half hours to reach the campus as the university is situated 22km away from the port city. The students are to spend more than three hours a day to reach the campus everyday. Sometimes, it becomes difficult for the students to attend their academic activities residing in the city because of a long journey from the campus.
Besides, around 2500 students reside in 70 private cottages adjacent to the campus to avoid the journey from the city. Students face multifarious problems in the cottages like congested rooms, water crisis and unhygienic bathrooms, campus sources said.
Moreover, transport crisis is also acute as the shuttle train is the only means of transportation for CU students. For over 14,000 students, there are four university-bound shuttle trains in the morning with capacity of maximum 1,100 students each.
Students, living outside the port city, are serious victim of accommodation crisis. Female students, especially the freshers, are the worst sufferers.
Around 110 female students are residing in the 'Nine Mass Rooms' of three female dorms facing difficulties, hall sources said.
Tawhida Raihan, a first year student, hailing from Mymensingh, was very much delighted getting scope to stay in a mass room of Pritilata Hall although facing difficulties as she has none in Chittagong.
“I have to spend over four hours in the transport daily as I have to attend my classes from my village home at Patiya upazila. I could not manage a seat in the hall. It is very much tiresome for me to go to the campus daily from a long distance,” said Chandrima Biswas, a first year student.
I am now very close to the end of my university life but I am yet to manage a seat in the halls. I had to pass last four years in messes in the port city. For managing the mess cost I had largely to depend on private tuition,” said Mamun-Ar-Rashid, a masters student.
The residential facilities in the university are not sufficient, said Prof Dr Mohammad Sekander Chowdhury, general secretary of CU Teachers Association. For accommodation problems, most of the students are forced to reside outside the campus, especially in the city, he said, adding that as a result they have to withstand sufferings to attend classes on the campus daily. Prof Sekander said to address the residential crisis of the students more halls should be constructed.
Acting Vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Alauddin said they are trying best to solve the problem which is not possible overnight.
Prof Alauddin said two new dormitories, one for male and another for female students, will be constructed. He said the construction work will be started in September this year.