Feature

We have gained many positive things, but also have
lost a great deal more - Prof. AAM Safiullah, Vice Chancellor, Buet

Interview taken by Kamrul Hasan Khan

We requested Prof AAM Safiullah, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), to say a few words about Buet, one of the country's excellent seats of learning.

In a spontaneous response to our request, he started off from the time he was a student then talked about the student movement of 1968 against the tyrannical rule of Ayub Khan, and all other significant transformations here that he had witnessed as a student.

Prof. Safiullah recalled that in his time students were more disciplined and regularly took part in sports and cultural activities.

“Annual cultural programme here was a big event for the people of Dhaka. Thousands of people used to throng the playground; many of the city schools declared holidays so that students could enjoy sports events.

“None of these exist now. We have gained many positive things, but also have lost a great deal more. Nowadays students are less interested in these types of entertainment, rather, they seem to find no time to cultivate finer things in life.

“I often tell them the story of how Prof MA Rashid, the founding VC of the university used to ride on a bicycle when he was an adviser to the Ziaur Rahman's government. That is a perfect example of simple living. So, besides studies, do some sports and cultural activities to be a good citizen and good soul.”

Prof. Safiullah said that nowadays poor students cannot afford educational expenses here, as education has become expensive. Taking a trip down memory lane, he narrated the experience of his taking admission at the erstwhile East Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology (Epuet) in 1965. Though at that time admission hurdle was not so tough, applicants had to participate in a drawing test and face interview to get admission. Everyone had faith on teachers' selections of students, because it was out of someone's imagination that a teacher could be biased. But as time elapsed, interview system has been discarded to keep the admission process transparent.

“Every year, we had to sit for eight examinations. Exams in those days were almost a daily affair. In 1971, when we sat for the annual examination, students were gripped by exam phobia. There was a reason for this phobia. Annual examinations required learning by heart huge technical lessons. It was a tough affair. And the phobia prompted students to agitate for deferment of examinations.

“Everything in the university ran on schedule, there was no scope to skip the routine until it was 1968, when the movement against the then Pakistani rulers began. The ripples of unrest touched the university, as students participated in the movement. Academic activity was hampered as strikes were enforced. However, after completion of my graduation in 1969 I joined a consultancy firm and later the Water Development Board. Then in 1973, I joined Buet as a lecturer.

“It was difficult to keep body and soul together with the poor salary we used to get in those days, but never the thought of going abroad came into my mind. But now our students are desperate to go across the border. In those days, in a small campus with only around 100 teachers, we used to know each other.

“Soon after the independence, we experienced some difficulty in controlling our students, as many of them had joined the Liberation War and the war had transformed their mindset. Some of them carried weapons they were provided with during the war. Some of them behaved roughly with teachers. Then Bangabandhu directed our students to show respect to teachers.”

Prof Safiullah has his own evaluation of the current times, as he said, “We are going through a transition.”

Lastly, when asked to comment on the first anniversary of Star Campus, Prof. Safiullah praised the magazine as an exceptional initiative of The Daily Star, as it gives space to students and emerging writers. He especially mentioned the recent coverage on Robocon 2007, Hanoi competition, where Buet boys have gone to represent Bangladesh.

(Kamrul Hasan Khan is DU Correspondent, The Daily Star)