Rajshahi University
39 test positive for COVID at RU
A total of thirty-nine students, teachers and employees of Rajshahi University tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday.
Dr. Tabibur Rahman, chief medical officer of RU medical center, informed that they collected samples of 68 teachers, students and employees of the university and sent them to the RT-PCR lab for testing.
Thirty nine of the samples of them were positive for Covid-19. "We have arranged to keep them in home quarantine so that other students do not become infected with the virus. Most of the university teachers, students and employees had symptoms of the virus," Dr Tabibur said.
READ: Rajshahi University dormitories reopen after 18 months
Meanwhile, the university authority called for an emergency meeting on Thursday with the deans of all faculties and the chairmen of all departments to take decision in this regard, said Pradip Kumar Pandey, Public Relations Office Administrator of the university
Earlier on Wednesday morning, RU Teachers Association met with the university vice chancellor Professor Golam Sabbir Sattar and urged to suspend in-person classes and start online classes to reduce the risk of infecting Covid-19.
READ: Prof Golam Sabbir Sattar appointed as VC of Rajshahi University
RU Professor Faruk Hossain passes away
Rajshahi University Social Work department’s Professor Md. Faruk Hossain died of cancer on Monday. He was 49.
According to the department of Social Work, Prof Faruk Hossain breathed his last at 5:45 am while undergoing treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai city on Monday.
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Rajshahi University Social Work department chairman Professor K M Rabiul Karim said, Professor Faruk was survived by his wife and a daughter. He had been suffering from cancer since 2019.
He was student-friendly and the most popular teacher in the department, also a very talented teacher and a good researcher. It is very difficult to find a teacher like him at the present time, he added.
RU vice-chancellor Professor Golam Sabbir Sattar expressed deep sorrow through a condolence message over the death of Professor Faruk Hossain.
Contextually, Professor Faruk was born in 1982 in Dogachhia village of Jessore Sadar Upazila. He secured his BSS (Honors) and MSS degrees with a first class in 1993 and 1994 respectively from the Institute of Social Welfare and Research of Dhaka University.
He joined the Rajshahi University Social Work department as a lecturer in 2002 and was promoted to Professor in 2016.
RU’s poor campus internet more a bane than boon for students
Several years ago, Rajshahi University authorities brought the entire campus under broadband internet coverage with the aim of enhancing students’ learning activities.
However, due to the poor speed and quality of the internet connection, students are ending up wasting extra time while accessing internet-based e-library, online tutorials, learning activities and some other online-based activities, as a substantial amount of time is spent on buffering.
According to campus sources, 11 academic buildings of the university have been brought under internet coverage for the convenience of online learning activities of the students. The internet connection in these academic buildings is very poor. Sometimes it becomes very difficult to connect on students’ smartphones.
As a result, the students are not getting much benefit from the internet connection in these academic buildings.
Read: Rajshahi University dormitories reopen after 18 months
The authorities also provided three or four WiFi router connections on each floor in the residential halls so that the students can get internet service in their rooms. But the capacity of the routers is less than the requisite. Unless they’re in the rooms closest to the router, they are hardly able to get a connection worth surfing the net.
According to the ICT center of the university, the speed of the central server of the university is 2.80 Gbps. The connection is supplied through various routers on campus.
However, students are complaining that they get Mbps connection very early in the morning. For the rest of the day, the speed is only a few kilobytes.
The students said that they have to get involved in various online activities like meetings, seminars, workshops, online courses etc.
In most cases, they have to buy their own data packs to participate in those programs as the wifi connection is simply not good enough to allow them to participate in those activities.
A residential student of Syed Amir Hall of the university said that the internet speed in the hall is “slower than a tortoise”. The connection is not good at all due to poor routers. Even if we have to pay for the internet, we are not getting quality service.
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Nazmus Sakib Zihad, a residential student of Madar Bux Hall said, “As soon as we connect the internet, buffering starts. Apart from that, the wifi disconnects. So, I have to buy data packs to do academic activities.”
In this regard, Babul Islam, the director of the ICT Centre of the university, said the speed of more than 100 megabytes is often provided from the central server. But the speed gets slower when many devices are connected to the routers. “We are planning to make internet rooms for different halls and floors, including the ‘Gonoroom’ of the student’s hall,” Babul said.
RU to include students failed in admission tests
The Rajshahi University authority has decided to admit the children and grand-children of the university teachers and staff under ward quote, even if they could not secure the minimum marks to pass the entrance examinations.
According to the admission circular, the admission seekers must secure 40 marks out of 100 in the admission test to get admitted to the university.
According to the new decision, the admission seekers under the ward quota, who secured 30 out of 100 marks in the entrance exams, would be able to get admitted at the university.
READ: Rajshahi University dormitories reopen after 18 months
The decision came from a meeting of the admission test sub-committee that was held on Monday where university vice-chancellor Professor Golam Sabbir Sattar chaired.
Agriculture faculty dean professor Abdul Alim said, A number of students cancel their admission at the university and get admitted to other universities, that’s why hundreds of seats are left vacant each year.
We have decided to include the admission seekers under ward quota to fill the vacant seats who secured at least 30 out of 100 marks in the entrance exams, he added.
READ: Prof Golam Sabbir Sattar appointed as VC of Rajshahi University
A total of 1 lakh 27 thousand 647 applicants across the country applied for the admission test against around 4,137 seats in 59 departments and 2 institutes under three units, this year.
RU Rokeya Hall residents stage demo demanding solutions
Residential students of Rajshahi University’s Begum Rokeya Hall on Saturday staged a sit-in in front of their hall demanding solutions to various problems they are facing, presenting a ten-point charter of demands.
The demands include cancelling the ‘evening law’ (whereby students have to be in their dorms by a certain time each evening or risk being locked out), better quality meals, fixing canteen mismanagement, allowing guests, alumni and residents of other halls to enter the premises, better WiFi, cleaner surroundings, clean washrooms, action against hall staff for misbehaving, allowing the students to stay in the hall for at least two months after the completion of Master's exams, resolving the problems in the reading room and arranging a kitchen for the students in the 'gono room'.
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Students reported that the meal price in the hall’s diner and canteen has been increased since the campus reopened, but the quality of food has not improved. Hall authority has been repeatedly informed but they are not taking any action.
Internet speed is very weak too. Hall staff misbehave when someone enters the hall after 7 pm. Mosquitoes and flies are on the rise as the washrooms and surroundings of the hall are not kept clean, students alleged.
The students also warned that they would go for a tougher movement if their demands are not met by November 23.
Later, student adviser Md Tareq Nur and proctor Md Liaket Ali came and asked for a few days to negotiate the problems but students refused.
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Then, under the pressure of the students, they held a meeting with the provost of Rokeya Hall. After the meeting, the students postponed their movement after getting assurance.
After the meeting, Rokeya Hall provost Dr Jayanti Rani Basak said, “The students have pressed home a few demands while some decisions have been taken to solve some of them. The administration will make a decision on the other demands.”
The authorities took three days to consider the demands. An overall final decision will be announced in the afternoon of November 23.
Rajshahi bids adieu to Hasan Azizul Huq
People from all walks of life, mostly teachers and students, paid their last respects to short-story writer and novelist Hasan Azizul Huq, who died on Monday night at the age of 82.
As the Ekushey Padak-winning author's body was brought to Central Shaheed Minar of Rajshahi University around 12pm, district commissioner Abdul Jalil was among the first to pay his respect to the departed soul.
Abdul placed floral wreaths on Hasan Azizul's body on behalf of Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Read: President Hamid, PM Hasina mourn writer Hasan Azizul Huq's death
Teachers and students of different departments as well as representatives of several social and political organisations of Rajshahi University also placed floral wreaths on the body.
Hasan Azizul's 'Namaj-e-Janaja' will be held after zuhr and he will be laid to rest in the university's central library garden.
Hasan Azizul breathed his last around 9pm on Monday.
Rajshahi University dormitories reopen after 18 months
Authorities on Sunday reopened the residential halls Rajshahi University (RU) after closure for long 18 months due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The students started to enter their respective halls at 10 am amid much enthusiasm showing their ID cards and vaccination cards.
Read: Prof Golam Sabbir Sattar appointed as VC of Rajshahi University
The university administration decided to reopen the halls at a meeting of the university's academic council on September 30.
The university administration has issued some instructions including wearing masks for the students to enter the halls.
Basins have been installed in front of the dormitories to wash their hands. However, most of the 16 residential halls have not been renovated.
Students who have not yet been vaccinated yet but got registered on the Surokkha app have been asked to get vaccinated at the Shaheed Sukhranjan Samaddar Student-Teacher Cultural Center (TSCC) from October 18 to 22.
Read: The contenders to be the next VC of Rajshahi University
University Public Relations office administrator professor Ajijur Rahman said students need to get at least one dose of corona vaccine to enter the halls. Two copies of the vaccination certificate, hall identity card and stamp size picture of them have to be shown at the entrance.
All the residential halls of Rajshahi University remained closed since March 16 last year. Academic activities will resume on October 20.
RU admission tests begin
Rajshahi University authority started admission test for the 2020-21 academic session on Monday.
'C' unit 1st shift exams started at 9.30 am and ended at 10.30 am. The 2nd and 3rd shift examinations will be held from 12pm to 1 pm and from 3 pm to 4pm respectively.
Read:Dhaka University’s ‘Kha’ unit admission test held
According to the university authorities, a total of 44,194 candidates applied for 'C' unit, 43,558 for 'A' unit, and 39,895 for 'B' unit.
RU pro-vice-chancellor professor Sultan Ul Islam said, “We have already completed all the preparations for the admission test. 'C' unit exams have started today.”
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'A' unit exams will be held Tuesday and 'B' unit exams on October 06.
Rajshahi University authority decided to allow female candidates to stay in the female residential halls but no guardians are allowed there.
RU student commits 'suicide'
A Rajshahi University student on Thursday night reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself in his village home at Jashore.
The deceased was identified as Imrul Kayes, a 3rd-year honor's student of Mass Communication and Journalism department of Rajshahi University.
Imrul Kayes was a residential student of Sher-E-Bangla hall of the university and hailed from Ganganandapur village of Jhikargacha upazila of Jashore.
Also read: 4 girls attempt suicide at Social Services Dept-run rehab centre
He was the eldest son of 3 siblings. His parents are employees of a private institution.
According to his classmates' statements, Imrul was mentally depressed. He was not satisfied with his life. Earlier, he was taken to a rehabilitation center for his unnatural behavior. He demanded a DSLR camera from his parents but they didn't give it. Late at night, he hanged himself from a fan. The dead body was recovered by breaking the door.
Also read: Woman poisons daughter, commits suicide in Jashore
Mass Communication and Journalism department chairman professor Mustak Ahmed said, "We are expressing condolences to his family on behalf of the department."
Imrul had been posting depressed messages on his Facebook wall for a few days.
He also mentioned 'suicide' in some of his posts.
RU waives students' hall, transportation fees for 18 months
Rajshahi University has waived the hall and transportation fees of its students for 18 months till September 2021.
The decision on the fee waiver was taken on Thursday evening at a meeting of the university syndicate committee held with Vice Chancellor and committee president Prof Dr Golam Sabbir Sattar in the chair.
Read: HC suspends joining at job of 138 teachers, staff at RU
According to the decision, the authorities will be coordinating with those who have already paid the fees soon.
Dr Azizur Rahman of RU public relations office said the committee waived the fees from April, 2020 to September, 2021 following requests made by the students.