আমি একজন সাধারন মানুষ Accommodation crisis hits female students of Jagannath University hard even six years after JnU turned to a full-fledged university. The university is estimated to have 8,000 female students who do not have residential facilities, let alone a single room for each of them to reside in. Sources in JnU registrar office said it is the only public university of the country that was transformed into a complete varsity from a college on October 20, 2005 in the city’s old part. From the very outset female students have been appealing to JnU authority for at least one dormitory for them, but to no avail. Living in old Dhaka either in a rented house or in a sublet is a circumstance which the female freshers see as stumbling block to achieving a good degree from the university. No steps have yet been taken to address the issue despite the fact that a large number of them hail from outside the capital. Some said homeowners often refuse to rent rooms out to students. Humayra and Nijhum of Sociology Department said, “It is tough to rent a house in old Dhaka where householders ask for a big advance.” “To figure out all costs — university fees, house rents and transport fees — it appears that we are studying in a private varsity, not a public varsity,” said Lucky Akter, a student of English Department. Some dubbed the ‘hunt for a house’ in old Dhaka a ‘Herculean task’. They said a maximum number of homeowners refuse to rent houses to unmarried female students. Some demand a huge advance. To take a two-room flat, it requires Tk 1 lakh to pay in advance. Even the rented house fails to provide optimum utility services and personal security for female renters. Rogue boys often gather at the house front, always making a nuisance of themselves, they added. Protiva Bose of Sociology Department said, “We often face the roguish boys. Even a complaint about them to our homeowner goes to no avail. Therefore, we are bound to live under such circumstances and continue study.” “Living off campus is so expensive as to afford that we do different types of part-time jobs — a bar to a disciplined form of study,” said Nupur, a student of Social Work Department. It was learned that the government sanctioned Tk 100 crore for the university development projects following the approval of executive committee meeting of National Economic Council (ECNEC) on December 7, 2009. A twenty-storey female dormitory was in the projects, but JnU authority is yet to kick it off. JnU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mesbahuddin Ahmed said, “We have already taken all necessary steps to build a separate dormitory for female students and hope to start construction soon.” Click This Link