Himu's Window

Chinese International Education Foundation (CIEF) will set up a Confucius Institute at Rajshahi University within a year. The institute will offer Chinese language and cultural courses for Bangladeshi students, RU Vice-Chancellor Prof Golam Sabbir Sattar, now travelling to China, told our Rajshahi correspondent virtually. Once established, the Confucius Institute will third organisation of CIEF in Bangladesh Universities, the first in North South University and the second being at Dhaka University. The Confucius Institute will be set up jointly by the university and Honghe University in Chinese Yunnan province, he said. The decision was taken in a meeting held at CIEF headquarters in Beijing Friday, the VC said. The Confucius Institute will play a role in bridging differences between the universities of the two countries, said Prof Golam Sabbir Sattar. At least 15 RU students were selected to visit China in September under the same programme, the VC added. Md Ajijur Rahman, director of...

  Angry protests erupted at Rajshahi University on Monday as a section of leaders of the Bangladesh Chhatra League unit at the campus demanded the dissolution of its newly announced committee. The protesters declared the new committee bearers ‘undesirable’ and threatened to resist their entry into the campus. They alleged that some of the new leaders are controversial and do not have the support of the student body. On Saturday after a break of seven years, the central BCL announced the new committee of RU BCL naming Mostafijur Rahman Babu as president and Assadullah Al Galib as general secretary. At least ten of the 39-member committee joined in the protests. They staged showdowns on the campus with motorcycles and chanting slogans demanding a fresh committee, some others blocked the entry points of the campus. “We were more than surprised when we learned about the new committee,” said Tawhidul Islam Durjoy. The newly made president has been inactive in the campus since 2019 while...

Rajshahi University syndicate in a meeting on Sunday decided to relieve Prof Md Enamul Haque, a teacher of the Department of Psychology of all his professional duties for two years. The punitive action against the professor was for sexually harassing two of his colleagues in the department in May, more than one syndicate member told The Daily Star on Monday. Once the decision takes effect, the professor would not be able to perform any academic, administrative, and examination duties during the punishment period, they said. “The decision was taken following the high court division’s guidelines of 2010 on prevention of sexual harassment on campuses,” said Assistant Prof Sadiqul Islam Sagor, one of the syndicate members. The committee that investigated the incident recommended several punitive actions including putting the involved teacher on forced retirement, but the syndicate considered the ‘gravity of the offense,’ said Prof Sadiqul. When contacted, the RU VC who chaired th...

Trades of Binodpur Bazar near Rajshahi University are at a loss after their shops were burnt to the ground on Saturday and they have no way of getting compensation. "I have not been able to sleep a wink since the night my store was destroyed in the arson attack," said 52-year-old Zahangir Alam, whose store was among those burned down in the clash near the Rajshahi University campus on Saturday. Alam his brother Zafar Ali used to run their business but since his brother's death in May last year, Zahangir was forced to become the lone breadwinner for an extended family of 14. Over 220 people were injured after students of Rajshahi University fought running battles with locals and police in Binodpur area near the campus on Saturday evening over trifles. Zahangir suffered a loss of Tk 7 lakh including Tk 3.5 lakh in cash from his mobile banking business that he operated from the store, which was burnt and looted during the arson attack. "I had to watch as the attackers d...

আবাসিক হল বন্ধ রেখে রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের (রাবি) ২০২০-২১ শিক্ষাবর্ষে ১ম বর্ষ স্নাতক শ্রেণিতে ভর্তি পরীক্ষার সিদ্ধান্তের কারণে আগামী অক্টোবরে প্রথম সপ্তাহে সারা দেশ থেকে আসা ১ লাখ ২৮ হাজার ভর্তিচ্ছু শিক্ষার্থী রাজশাহী শহরে তীব্র আবাসন সংকটের সম্মুখীন হতে পারেন। শিক্ষক, ছাত্র ও অভিভাবকরা এই আশঙ্কা প্রকাশ করে দ্য ডেইলি স্টারকে জানান, ভর্তি পরীক্ষার সময় দেশের নানা প্রান্ত থেকে রাজশাহী আসা ভর্তিচ্ছুদের অন্তত ৫০ শতাংশ ক্যাম্পাসের হলগুলোতে অবস্থান নেন। এবার হল বন্ধ থাকায় অসচ্ছল পরিবারের শিক্ষার্থীরা যারা দূরবর্তী অঞ্চল থেকে যারা রাজশাহীতে আসবেন তাদের আবাসন সংকট তীব্রভাবে মোকাবিলা করতে হতে পারে। কিন্তু, বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় কর্তৃপক্ষ দুঃখ প্রকাশ করে বলেছে তাদের 'কিছুই করার ছিল না'। Main Gate of University of Rajshahi রাবি উপাচার্য অধ্যাপক গোলাম সাব্বির সাত্তার ডেইলি স্টারকে বলেন, 'আমি নিরুপায়। কোনো উপায় খুঁজে পাইনি। অত্যন্ত দুঃখিত যে আমরা ভর্তিচ্ছুদের বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে থাকার বিষয়ে কোনো সিদ্ধান্ত নিতে পারিনি।' তিনি জানিয়েছেন যে মহামারি পরিস্থিতিতে হল খোলার সিদ্ধান্তকে সংশ্লিষ্...

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...