Every year, during Rajshahi University's (RU) admission tests, the institute's halls welcome thousands of admission seekers from different corners of the country. According to teachers, student leaders and guardians, the dormitories usually house around 50 percent of admission seekers, particularly students from non-affluent families and those from far flung areas.
This year, however, admission seekers are likely to face an acute accommodation crisis. Although the tests will be held in the first week of October, authorities are keeping the campus halls shut.
RU Vice Chancellor Prof Golam Sabbir Sattar told The Daily Star that opening halls during the pandemic would be risky. He also argued that he did not get enough time to decide, as the tests were scheduled before he became VC in late August.
Some 1.28 lakh admission seekers, divided under three units, are likely to sit for the tests, scheduled to be held in three shifts per day on October 4, 5 and 6.
Meanwhile, Dhaka University (DU) is also holding admission tests of some 36,000 students from Rajshahi division's eight districts on October 1, 2, 9, 22 and 23 in Rajshahi city.
RU has 11 residential halls for men, six for women and one for foreign students. All of them can accommodate a total of 8,000 students in regular times. During admission tests, however, the halls arrange accommodation for nearly at least six times the capacity, teachers and students said.
Although arranging admission seekers' stay is not the university's responsibility, it is an age-old tradition, they said.
Other than accommodating students in rooms, authorities usually allow admission seekers to stay in auditoriums, mosques, dining rooms, and sometimes other open spaces, including verandas of the halls.
They also stay at Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, Rajshahi Medical College, and other educational institutes. But this time, all halls of the other institutions are closed as well.
Ashiq Sadik, guardian of an admission seeker from Savar, said he had been trying to manage a seat (dorm accommodation) for his son for the last three weeks. "I couldn't arrange one. I don't know anyone in the city. I don't know whether I'll take my son to Rajshahi."
Sagar Parvez, a student of Barishal, said he managed a room at a private dormitory at a higher price.
Meanwhile, Rajshahi's Sacheton Nagorik Committee submitted a memorandum to the RU VC, urging authorities to open halls during the tests.
Talking to The Daily Star, the VC said he had proposed to the hall provosts' council for opening halls for a limited time during tests.
"The provosts' council declined the proposal. The provosts are teachers, and they found it difficult to ready halls for opening at a time when they had to hold classes and exams," he said.
Besides, the VC said provosts refused to open halls before the vaccination of at least 80 percent of RU students. Some 50 percent of students have been vaccinated so far.
Contacted, convener of the provosts' council Prof Md Ekram Hossain said, "We can't open halls for those who are not our students yet."
He said if the university authority takes a decision in this regard, they would follow through.
After a series of meetings with RU authorities and Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) till yesterday, private dormitory owners have announced to make their accommodation facilities free of cost for admission seekers.
Contacted, Md Enayetur Rahman, president of Rajshahi City Private Dormitory Owners Association, said, "We decided this on humanitarian ground."
He said some 30 percent of the city's 5,000 private dorms were closed during the pandemic. The 3,000 dorms currently open can house around 1.20 lakh people, he said.
He, however, added that only admission seekers will get free accommodation; their family members will have to pay.
After the meeting, RCC Mayor Khairuzzaman Liton said the city's private dorms, hotels, and government rest houses have been arranged for admission seekers and their families. Through this initiative, at least 70 percent of students will have a place to stay.
However, RU teachers and students think the decision to accommodate students in private dorms was unrealistic, as admission seekers, who are mostly not from the region, barely know the dorms' location.
Furthermore, since educational institutions are conducting academic activities by keeping halls closed, many students of those institutes are already occupying the private dorms.
Some students alleged that many have started cashing in on the bad situation. They said they saw several posts on Facebook offering dorm seats for Tk 1,000 per night, which means many are occupying and renting out the free seats.
All rooms of the city's residential hotels were booked three weeks ago. The rooms that used to be rented out for Tk 300 have been booked for Tk 2,000, students said.
Khondoker Hasan Kabir, general secretary of Rajshahi Residential Hotel Owners Association, said around 62 hotels of the city can house 2,000 people, but none of the rooms are vacant.
"The hotels under our association under no circumstances can charge a higher rate for rooms, but I cannot say the same about hotels not enlisted with our association," Kabir said.
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The RU VC said he would raise the issue of opening halls in the Academic Council meeting on Thursday.
But whether halls would be opened before the tests remains uncertain.
"We have started cleaning the halls, but completing all the work will require the first week of October," he said.
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