Rescuing our universities

One such problem is the steady deterioration of the country's universities, and in particular the domination of the nation's campuses by the armed cadres of the political parties.

The recent incidents on the Dhaka University campus in the aftermath of the death of student Shammi Akhter Happy have brought the issue of campus terrorism into sharp focus.

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For the past week, we have seen JCD cadres, aided and abetted by the police, impose a reign of terror on the DU campus.

It is true that the unrest started with students protesting Happy's death by throwing stones at and attacking passing motorists and the police, and that the scenes following her death did no credit to the students involved or to the university student body as a whole.

Certainly, the police need to take action to restore order in situations like these, and I am not defending the students who took out their wrath on innocent passers-by, nor do I condone their riotous response to the traffic accident, regardless of the provocation.

But it is clear that very soon after Happy's tragic demise, that the JCD cadres, supported by the police, were using the unrest as an excuse not only to terrorise opposing cadres and expel them from campus, but to even target everyday students whose only offense had been their opposition to the high-handed police and cadre thuggery.

In fact, even students minding their own business and taking care not to get involved have been targeted, and the attacks have even reached into the hostels and classrooms. The cadres have made their point. The campus belongs to them and no one can question their authority or control. Even the administration and university professors have not been spared from the offensive.

The campuses have always been hotbeds of political intrigue and activism, but now things have reached a new low.

It was not so long ago that Shamsunnahar Hall was stormed by the police at the behest of JCD cadres. Last Wednesday was the third death anniversary of Sabequnnahar Sony, the BUET student who was killed in crossfire during a gunfight between two JCD factions. Earlier this year Rajshahi University descended into chaos with JCD and Islami Chhatra Shibir factions waging war over the appointment of a new VC. And now this.

Enough is enough, surely.

Nor is the violence and the fact that campuses remain under the effective control of armed cadres the only problem.

What we are now seeing is that every facet of our educational institutions is being corrupted due to their domination by gangsters and criminals. Needless to say, the quality of education on offer has plummeted and due to disturbances and shut-downs it takes on average seven years to complete a masters degree.

Now things are even worse. The integrity of the examination process and the degrees that are awarded have now been compromised by the corruption that permeates the campuses. The mass cheating in public examinations that is now rampant strikes at the very heart of higher education in the country.

No prizes for guessing who is behind the corruption.

The university authorities are no help. In fact they are part of the problem. The fact is that most university administrators are picked for their fealty to the ruling party of the day and are notable only for the depths to which they are willing to stoop in order to curry favour with their political masters.

This translates into permitting the cadres a free hand. The authorities do not lift a finger to protect the student body from the depredations of the cadres, and in fact are the ones who ensure the protection of the cadres. In some cases they even use the cadres as their own personal bodyguards and enforcers.

The entire system is rotten from top to bottom and rigged from the start. First year students coming from far-off districts are not ensured a place in hostel and are thus easy prey for the cadres who are in a position to help them find digs and provide other services -- at a cost. Thus they fall in with the cadres and the corrupting process begins.

This is what is behind the corrosion of the moral fabric of student life. Incoming students are quick to see that all advantages from accommodation to exam questions to future employment accrue to those who play cadre politics. Those students who play by the rules and try to do their best are increasingly being left behind.

This week I met with some leaders of an estimable organisation called the Jatiya Chhatradhara who have been organising and campaigning to take back our university campuses since 2000. They are a non-partisan and non-political organisation with over 1000 active members and a presence all over the country.

Their ethos is straightforward. They want cadres -- be they BNP or AL or Shibir or whatever -- off of campus. They want a terrorist and arms free campus. They want the corruption stopped. Simply put, they want a normal university life.

Their demands are something that we should all be able to get behind. We all have a stake in rescuing our universities. Perhaps even supporters of the main political parties can see that a truce at our universities would be to the benefit of all.

If influential people raise their voices and if this becomes a non-partisan national rallying point, perhaps we can achieve something. Right now, the only prominent leader who has supported them in their efforts is Dr. Kamal Hossain and they are a part of his Jatiya Oikya Moncha.

Of course, change must come from the top down.

Dhaka University, for instance, is controlled by the JCD. The VC is their man. The only way that things will get change is if orders come from the top.

I understand that no one wants the other party to get the upper hand. Fine. But let the police do their job and secure the campuses in an impartial manner. This is a law and order question. Let the police free the campuses of arms and terror. Let the campuses again be seats of learning. The nation as a whole will benefit.

So will the government. The political capital gained by cleaning up the campuses would be immense. People will remember this come election time.

The same goes for the AL. If it were to make this an issue and also pledge to remove its own cadres, it would gain considerable political capital. And, frankly, since its cadres have been more or less decimated by the JCD, they have little to lose.

As for the cadres, it should be easy enough to find somewhere else for them to ply their trade. I would rather see cadre politics eliminated altogether. But being realistic, let us at least move them away from campus.

The Jatiya Chhatradhara are brave and impressive young men and women. They have done a great job organising students on campuses the length and breadth of the country. But since the campuses remain under the control of the cadres there is only so much that they can do on their own.

Let's get behind this movement, starting from today.

There are many things that as mere citizens we are powerless to do anything about. But we do have the power to put pressure on the political parties to clean up university campuses. We may not be able to change the world or even the country as a whole, but if we create a national consensus to save just this tiny quarter of it, then the benefits to all of us will be incalculable.

Zafar Sobhan is Assistant Editor of The Daily Star.