Govt colleges in Ctg in bad shape

Due to shortage of classrooms, authorities of Govt Haji Mohammad Mohsin College in Chittagong have fit a shutter to divide the auditorium into two classrooms. When a programme is arranged, the shutter is opened. Photo: Anurup Kanti DasPranabesh Chakraborty, Ctg

Classes in all five government colleges in Chittagong are not being held regularly due to shortage of teachers and classrooms.

The authorities of the colleges blamed fund crunch and excessive pressure of admission for the situation.

Chittagong Govt College, Govt Women's College, Govt City College, Govt Haji Mohammad Mohsin College, and Govt Commerce College altogether provide education to over 50,000 higher secondary, graduate, and post graduate students.

As per the National University Law, these colleges should have at least 687 teachers -- each department should have seven teachers for the Honours and 12 for the Master's courses. But instead they have 393 teachers against 456 approved posts.

To handle the situation the colleges hire guest teachers. Principals of two of the colleges told The Daily Star that they have to charge students to cover a portion of the hiring expense; the rest is provided from the college funds.

To mitigate the classroom crisis, Govt City College and Govt Women's College initiated expansion of their buildings in 2007-08, but that could not be implemented due to a delay in fund release by the education ministry, sources said.

The principals of the colleges had a meeting with Education Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury in the port city's circuit house last December.

The secretary told the meeting that although a big share of the national budget had been allocated for the education sector, most of it was being spent in primary and secondary education. Due to this financial crisis, the ministry could not increase the number of teachers in the colleges despite being serious about maintaining good academic standard.

THE SITUATION PERSISTS
Chittagong Government College has 14,000 students and offers Honours in 17 subjects and Master's in 19.

Here the English, botany, zoology, chemistry, and physics departments each has 11 teachers while the sociology, statistics, philosophy, and history departments are stumbling with inadequate number of teachers.

Chittagong Govt Women's College offers eight Honours subjects and four Master's courses besides higher secondary and Bachelor's degree programmes.

According to official records, the college has 26 classrooms for over 6,000 students. The posts of demonstrator, computer teacher, and librarian, besides the regular teachers, are lying vacant here for long.

Students waiting outside classrooms for their turn to enter is an every day scene in the women's college.

"Who knows how long we have to suffer from this," said a frustrated student of the economics department, adding that even if a classroom was available, teachers were not.

"We need adequate number of teachers and classrooms to finish our syllabus on time," said another student.

With 14,000 students Government City College offers Honours in 15 subjects and Master's in 12, and faces acute teacher and classroom crises.

Classes of six sessions of a department here are held in only two rooms. "During the class time of one session, students of other sessions have to wait outside for their chance," said Harisankar Jaladas, principal of the college.

Haji Mohammad Mohsin College has only 25 classrooms for around 11,500 students.

The college auditorium has been parted for holding classes of two groups of science students. Portions of the laboratory and practical rooms are also being used as classrooms for science students, said Prof Mohammad Abdul Gofran, principal of the college.

The college had also been employing part-time teachers, he added.

According to official records, around 6,500 students are studying in Govt Commerce College. The college offers two subjects each for Honours and Master's courses. Teacher crisis is also prominent here.