BAU Correspondent
Students have been waiting for the eighth convocation of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), the highest school of agricultural education in the subcontinent, for six long years. Although the initiative has been taken more than once after the seventh convocation in 2016, the eighth convocation has not seen the light of day yet. More than six thousand students are waiting for the convocation. They demanded the university administration to organize a convocation quickly.
Although 60 years have already passed since the establishment of one of the oldest universities in Bangladesh, only seven convocation ceremonies have been completed. But for a university student, convocation is a name of extreme aspiration. After hard work and perseverance, it is the dream of every student to participate in the colorful process of receiving the degree certificate.
According to university sources, the first convocation of BAU was held on March 28, 1968 under the leadership of the then Chancellor of the University Abdul Monem Khan. Four years later, the second convocation was held on 31 December 1972 under the leadership of Abu Saeed Chowdhury, which was the first convocation in independent Bangladesh. The third convocation was held on June 5, 1994 under the leadership of Begum Khaleda Zia, the fourth convocation was held on December 20, 1997 under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina and the fifth convocation was held on February 5, 2003 under the leadership of Iajuddin Ahmed. The sixth convocation was held on March 8, 2011 under the leadership of Zillur Rahman and the seventh convocation was held on February 23, 2016 under the leadership of the present President Mohammad Abdul Hamid.
However, the students who passed in 2015 were not included in the seventh convocation. The students of that batch were not included in the last convocation but they did not get the convocation despite being university graduates. Even after that, five more new batches graduated from the university but none of them got convocation.
A student named Matiur Rahman has passed from the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology in the 2014-15 academic year. He said that other public universities in the country hold convocations every year. Not to mention the private universities. But Bangladesh Agricultural University does not even have a convocation for several years. In the long 60-year journey, there have been only seven convocations in BAU. This is the failure of our university administration. If there was proper initiative and goodwill, the university administration could have organized the convocation every year.
Mostafa Kamal , 2011-12 academic year student of the Faculty of Veterinary, said that convocation is the name of a desired event for the students at the end of their university life. Students have seen it happen only once in 2016 after being admitted in 2012. Although all other universities have organized convocations, students have repeatedly seen the university administration silent on this issue. Being a student of a reputed university in Bangladesh is as much a shame as it is a hardship for the students. It is hoped that the present administration of the university will organize a convocation with the students who did not get the convocation very soon and will maintain its continuity.
Another student of the university, SM Ismail Musa, said that one of the failures of this university was its failure to organize convocations on time for its graduates. Those who graduate, however, look like birds of prey for this convocation. However, the university administration has been able to organize the convocation only seven times in 60 years.
BAU Vice-Chancellor Professor Lutful Hasan said, "Like the students, I myself want a convocation. I also discussed organizing it. Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, we could not go any further. I hope we can implement this demand of the students quickly.”
