Students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) on Monday staged a human chain on the campus, demanding reduction of the fees announced ahead of the university’s sixth convocation to be held on February 26.
Over fifty students from different departments joined the programme at the road adjacent to the university’s central Shaheed Minar at noon to press home their five-point demands.
Bengali department student Zahir Foysal said, ‘Attending convocation at the cost of Tk5,000 is an extra burden for a fresh graduate as he has no income source. Besides, the university administration is legalising commercial courses through giving weekend courses students to the convocation despite the University Grants Commission’s directive to stop it.
Contacted, JU Vice Chancellor (VC) Nurul Alam said, ‘It is too late to raise the demand as we are very close to the long-awaited ceremony.’
‘The convocation fees have been set at Tk2,500 for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes separately and Tk4,000 together, Tk5,000 for MPhil degree, Tk7,000 for PhD degree and Tk8,000 for weekend and evening programmes,’ member secretary of the convocation registration committee Syed Mohammad Ali Reza said.
