Jahangirnagar University (JU) is going to regain its lost residential status as its authorities decided to build six more dormitories with having 6,000 seats for the students by 2022 under a development project, an official said, reports BSS.
“A total of six 10-stoey dormitories (three for male and three for female) will be built with capacity of 6,000 seats under the Further Development of JU Project by 2022 aiming to get back its lost the residential status,” JU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Farzana Islam told BSS.
Currently, around 4,152 students are not getting accommodation facilities and living in others dormitories as extra residents, the VC said in an interview at her residential office on the campus here.
She said: “After completion of the construction of the new six dormitories, the current accommodation crisis will be resolved”. Apart from building new halls, two dormitories will be vertically extended up to six-story from existing four and five-story, she added. About the development project, Farzana said the government has allocated Taka 1445.36 crore, which is the largest ever in the history of JU after its establishment, under the Further Development of JU Project. The project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on October 23 last year, she added.
Under the project, a 10-storey administrative building having all modern facilities and five 11-storey residential buildings for teachers, officers and employees will also be built to facilitate accommodation to them, Farzana said. After completion of the project, all students and a large scale of teachers, officials and employees of the university could stay on the campus which would help the university retrieve its lone residential status, she added.
The project also includes building a six-storey central library having modern facilities, construction of roads, bridges and drainages and installation of power, water and gas lines on the campus. According to the Development Project Proposal (DPP), the construction works of the five students’ dormitories have already began while total project will be implemented gradually within the stipulated time, the VC said.
About the project implementation process, she said “We have done everything following the legal process”. “We started the process for the development project in 2015. Before preparing the DPP we made a 3D master plan with an expert team of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) after consulting with the all authorities concerned,” she said.
Before preparing the master plan, however, a digital survey was conducted, the VC added. The construction work is underway as per the master plan, Farzana said, adding, “In the 3D master plan earmarking specific area for greenery, we explained how the land of the university will be used and what kind of change will come after implementation of the plan”.
The master plan was submitted to the University Grant Commission (UGC), education ministry and planning commission, she said. “Everything, from master plan making to project implementation, is going through a legal process. The construction work was given to the contractors through a transparent tender,” Farzana said.
The work order has been given to the contractors with the approval of the Education Ministry, she added.
The Jahangirnagar University, known as the capital of cultural and sanctuary of biodiversity, started its journey on August 20, 1970 with only four departments and 150 students as only residential university of the country. There are now a total of 34 departments and six faculties along with four institutes and more than 15,000 students and around 650 teachers.
However, new departments were launched responding to the demand of time and more students were enrolled, but the residential hall was not built accordingly as per the demand to accommodate all students on the campus.
After assuming the state power in 2009, Awami League (AL) government paid an attention to JU to retrieve its residential status. A total of four student dormitories (three for female and one for male) were built between 2009 and 2016. The halls are – Sheikh Hasina, Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnessa Mujib, Begum Sufia Kamal Hall and Bishwakabi Rabindranath Tagore.