Students of all public universities missed their respective beautiful campuses almost throughout the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic that compelled them to stay at home.
Earlier on March 16 the government closed all the educational institutions of the country to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
They have been staying at homes and attending virtual classes and examinations, and they know nothing when their universities will be reopened.
Especially, the first year honours students who just spent not more than one month on their campuses, expressed their utter dismay, saying they would be able to get back their beautiful places enriched with faculty, library, auditorium and dormitories lawn, which consists of a masterfully designed fountain surrounded by lush green grass
“I have been missing my campus for about nine months. Now I don’t wake up early to go to class and also don’t see my friends. I miss everyone in SUST which is my second family. I also miss my teachers. Like me all the students especially the first year are very glad to become a student of SUST. But the Covid-19 erased our campus life,” Samanta Samiha Raisa, a first year student of Anthropology department of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) told this correspondent.
Arunava Mrittika, another student of SUST echoing the same argument said that they have just begun their university life with hopes and aspirations.
“But the Covid-19 snatched away our important campus life. I just have started my campus life, enjoying everything of my green and hill surrounded campus. We also started to knowone another other and trying to get the flavour of campus life. But now I’m shocked and devastated as I’m not allowed to go to my university. However, I hope that everything will be right. All sorts of odd, sorrows, and coronavirus crisis will go away. And we all will be able to walk through our green campus,” she continued as saying.
Apart from the SUST, students of all other universities like Dhaka, Jahangirnagar, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Bangladesh Agriculture University, BUET, KUET, RUET, CUET, government medical colleges are also missing their respective campuses.
They now feel bored as they have not yet been informed officially when their universities will reopen and all academic activities will resume physically.
On the other hand, most of the public universities are taking classes online.
And the university authorities have also decided to hold the final examinations at their respective campuses physically keeping the residential halls shut.
The Covid-19 pandemic has radically transformed their life style, confining them into their residence.
Apart from holding classes and examinations, the university authorities are also working with all the stakeholders to resume academic activities but also considering various aspects.
Meanwhile, students of public universities continued demanding reopening of residential dormitories before sitting for exams amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
They said students must be provided with residential facilities, health protection, and transport facilities to prepare for examinations, adding that the decision of holding exams while keeping the halls shut was irrational.
There are not enough accommodation facilities around the university, the students said expecting that the university would take the exams after ensuring residential facilities.
But the university authorities threw the ball in the government’s court saying that the final decision to reopen the university residential halls would depend on the directives of the health ministry.
