Shawdesh Desk:

The authorities of Rajshahi University have reduced sixteen per cent of the existing seats in fifteen departments for undergraduate first year students in 2021-22 academic session for what the university authorities said to balance teacher-student ratio in accordance with international standard.

The university authorities’ decision to lower the number of seats would limit access to higher education at public universities amid rising costs of education at private educational institutions.

The decision to reduce seats comes amid public universities spending large sums for building infrastructures such as dormitories and quarters for students, teachers and others.

RU public relation office administrator professor Pradip Kumar Panday told New Age on Friday that the university authorities took the decision of reducing a total of 168 seats in fifteen departments in 2021-22 academic session to maintain the teacher-student ratio in line with international standards as this would help in ensuring quality of education and research and accommodation’.

He said that the student could not concentrate on their studies while attending classes due to imbalanced teacher-student ratio. ‘The number of seats may also be increased later if teachers are increased through subsequent recruitment’, he added.

According to the university registrar office, a total of 4,173 students without quota were admitted to fifty eight departments and six institutes at the university in the past academic sessions.

This year, the authorities have decided to cut down 168 out of 1052 seats in fifteen departments to maintain the teacher-student ratio.

According to the registrar sources, a total of 48 seats were reduced at the social science faculty.

Under the faculty, twenty seats were cut down in social work and sociology departments each and ten seats were in economics, political science, and public administration departments each and six seats were in anthropology and folklore departments each.

Thirty five seats were cut down at the arts faculty while twenty six seats were at life and earth science faculty, fifteen seats at fine art faculty, and ten seats at engineering faculty respectively.

AHM Aslam Hossain, deputy registrar (academic), told New Age that the process of reducing seats at the university had been going on for a long time.

‘The issue of reassessing seats in the departments according to the teacher-student ratio was first discussed in the Academic Council meeting. The university administration then sent a letter to the University Grants Commission with the resolution of the meeting.

‘UGC was of the view that the seats could be reduced in consultation with the departments. Letters were then sent from the university administration to each department. Out of fifty eight departments, fifteen departments recommended reducing seats’, he added.