Recently, students organized protests and sit-ins at the base of the Raju Sculpture on the Dhaka University (DU) campus, submitted memorandums to the Vice-Chancellor (VC) and the Education Advisor, demanding a 'second-time' admission test at DU. Now, they have taken their demand to the High Court by filing a writ petition.
On Monday (November 18), the protesting students filed the writ petition in the High Court. The respondents in the petition include the VC, Pro-VC, Registrar, Admission Committee, and others of Dhaka University. Advocate Bayezid Hossain stated, “The case has been filed. The filing process is complete. We hope the hearing will be held soon.”
The writ petition was submitted to the High Court by Barristers Humayun Kabir Pallab, Sulaiman Tushar, Advocate Naim Sardar, and Advocate Bayzid Hossain. The petitioners include Abdullah Abrar Fahim, Farhan Shahriar Naim, Ashraful Haque Shovon, Tasmiya Alam Suneha, Maria Sultana, and others who have been protesting for a 'second-time' admission test at DU.
The protesting students stated that they have been fighting for this demand for a long time. They argue that many unreasonable demands were accepted after the change in government, but their logical demand has yet to be acknowledged by the university administration. They pointed out that even Oxford University, one of the world’s leading universities, allows second attempts, as do medical colleges and many public universities in Bangladesh. They questioned why Dhaka University cannot follow suit, emphasizing that they will not tolerate discrimination in an independent country and must be granted a second chance for admission tests.
Regarding the movement, protester Tasmiya Alam Suneha said, “Our demand is very logical and relevant. Until recently, it was possible to sit for a second attempt. Why is it not allowed now? Other universities offer this opportunity. If our demand is not met, the movement will intensify.” It is worth noting that DU discontinued second-time admission tests in 2014. Although there have been several protests since then, the issue remains unresolved.
