Chittagong Government College, one of the oldest colleges of the country. Photo: Anurup Kanti Das

Chittagong Government College, one of the oldest educational institutions in the country, has been facing shortage of teachers, classrooms and other facilities, hampering studies of over 14,000 students.
Many departments do not have required number of teachers, are running with only three fourth of their requirements, and even have no permanent teacher. Besides, classrooms are in dilapidated condition.
The college started its journey as an intermediate college in the Joy Nagar area adjacent to Chandan Pura and Chawlk Bazar, a prime location in the port city in 1869. Degree course was introduced in 1913 under Kolkata University. Honours courses were introduced in 1919.
Seventeen subjects in honours and 19 in master's are taught in the college by only 130 teachers against the posts of 216.
Every department should have seven teachers for honours and 12 for master's courses for proper education as per the National University (NU) rule.
Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy and Statistics departments are facing acute shortage of teachers.
Four posts are lying vacant in Sociology department against the sanctioned seven posts where there should have 12 posts as per the NU rules. In Psychology department three posts and in History department two posts are lying vacant. Statistics, Philosophy, History departments are also facing such problems.
Principal Shekhar Dastidar told The Daily Star that only five departments -- English, Botany, Zoology, Chemistry and Physics -- have 11 teachers each. Necessary posts have not been created by the education ministry. So, other departments are also facing shortage of teachers, he added.
He said the college authorities have nothing to do with this matter as only the education ministry can create new posts. Many posts for teachers at other departments created by the education ministry are also lying vacant, affecting the studies of the students, he said.
One post of associate professor in Bengali, two posts of lecturer in History, one post of professor in Political Science and Philosophy each, two posts of lecturers in Arabic and Islamic Education, one post of associate professor, and one post of lecturer in Statistic, one post of professor in Physics, two posts of professor in Botany and Zoology are lying vacant now. Two posts of demonstrator are also lying vacant -- one at botany department and the other at zoology department.
Suraya Ruma, a third year student of Sociology, said only one class is held in the department due to shortage of teachers. It is too inadequate to complete the syllabus.
She said that to continue classes properly and complete the syllabus in time, they need separate examination halls and more teachers, Ruma added.
Echoing the same sentiment, Abu Mohammad Shayek Chowdhury, a degree student, said they face more difficulties as there is no allotted classroom for them in the college.
“Our classes are held when only classes of the departments are vacant and it depends on teachers' wills”, he said. “They have a class routine which is not followed for shortage of teachers and classrooms."
He said classes remain suspended for three months a year due to intermediate, degree, honours and master's examinations.
Classrooms of Geography and Bengali departments are in dilapidated condition, students allege.
Md Idrish Ali, a teacher of Chemistry department, said shortage of teacher on the one hand and tendency of a section of teachers to private coaching on the other are also affecting the environment of education in the college.
He said renovation of the dilapidated classrooms are also needed to bring back educational atmosphere in the college.