Sheikh Mehzabin Chitra, SUST
The Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) authorities have decided to hold final examinations of different years from January 17 amid students demanding for return to the campus.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of SUST Academic Council held at the university on Thursday.
In the first phase, examinations of master’s final and fourth-year honours students will be held.
“And the rest of the students’ final examinations will be conducted gradually later,” Professor Farid Uddin Ahmed, Vice Chancellor, SUST told reporters.
All departments have already been asked to take all-out preparations to hold the final examinations from January 17.
The three-hour long examination has been reduced to two hours while two-hour to one hour.
The male students have been asked to manage alternative accommodation as the university dormitories remain shut from March 16 in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the female students who would be unable to find accommodation, have been asked to contact their respective departments.
Earlier on March 16, the government closed all the educational institutions of the country to prevent the spread of coronavirus
On Friday, the closure was been extended again till January 16 next year.
“We don’t want to hamper the student’s academic activities. So, we have decided to hold the all year final examinations in phases,” Professor Farid Uddin Ahmed said.
Meanwhile, the SUST authorities said they would not reopen the dormitories, the students expressed their grave concern over accommodation.
Different departments of SUST have also been holding different examinations except 60 marks in the final examinations.
The SUST VC said as the university authority is determined to make the institution free from session jam, it is coming up with various measures so that students would not suffer session jam if the coronavirus pandemic persists for unusually long time.
Farid Uddin Ahmed said the threat of session jam is certainly looming large in all public universities but SUST would not have to face such difficulties.
"Apart from holding examinations, we are also working with all the stakeholders to resume academic activities but also considering various aspects. Our deans of different faculties, chairmen and teachers of different departments are coordinating to chalk out plans in order continue the classes apart from examinations,” he said.
SUST is the first public university that has been conducting classes since April 4 in a bid to continue the academic activities.
Replying to a query he said, when the university will be reopened, the conditions including maintaining health guidelines, hygiene, and physical will be imposed on both teachers and students.
“Besides, if we get green signal from the government and health experts, we will reopen our institution and resume academic activities in limited scale. In this regard, students of fourth year honours final, postgraduate, M Phil and PhD are being given the priority,” he added
“Our university is completely free from session jam. But the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has affected the academic activities of all educational institutions badly. So, our university’s academic activities have also been affected. Yet, our teachers are working hard to connect bridge between them and students by taking regular virtual classes” the Vice Chancellor said.
However, SUST students are unhappy over the authorities’ decision to hold the final examinations keeping the dormitories shut.
They have demanded that either the university reopens the residential halls on a limited scale or provide the students with alternative accommodation facilities.
“Yes! We will take part in the final examinations to avert session jam and continue our academic activities. But the decision of keeping the dormitories closed, participation in the examinations would be a very tough. We are requesting the authorities to reopen the residential halls,” Fahim, a student of SUST said.
Talking to this correspondent, Masum, another student, echoing the same argument said the authorities should reconsider the decision, taking into account the economic hardships.
Besides, large number students continued demanding the reopening of the residential halls before the commencement of exams.
‘We most of the students are from different parts of the country are studying here. We don’t have any residence in Sylhet. If the residential halls remain closed and examinations will continue how and in what way we will sit for examinations,” another female student said.
The students urged the university authorities to reopen residential halls on a limited scale for holding exams.
On the other hand, apart from holding examinations, many students of SUST are pleased with their university authority’s time befitting steps to continue the academic activities through virtual classes amid coronavirus pandemic situation.
