Jucsu stages sit-in, urges Academic Council to implement 13-point reform agenda

Highlights:

• Students submit 13-point academic reform proposal
• Faster results and research grants among key demands
• Leaders seek institutional support for research assistants
• Council urged to prioritise student-centred academic reforms

Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (Jucsu) staged a sit-in today (29 July), calling on the university’s Academic Council to adopt a series of student-centred reforms and implement its 13-point academic agenda.

The demonstration began at around 3:30pm in front of the Old Registrar Building, ahead of the Academic Council meeting.

Jucsu’s proposals include introducing research grants for master’s thesis students, providing institutional access to international journals and online academic platforms, enforcing an effective academic calendar to reduce session delays, publishing examination results more quickly, extending institutional email services, recruiting students as research assistants, and launching certificate courses on scientific equipment at the Wazed Miah Science Research Centre.

The student body also demanded the recruitment of additional staff for academic departments and the Controller of Examinations’ Office, a simplified approval process for scribes for students with disabilities, permission for students with a GPA of up to 3.25 to sit improvement examinations, a re-evaluation system for final examination scripts, special final-year examinations under exceptional circumstances, a teacher evaluation system, and rescheduling final examinations from 12:00pm to 10:00am.

Speaking at the programme, Jucsu Education and Research Secretary Abu Ubaida Usama said the university was holding its first Academic Council meeting in eight months despite a backlog of student demands.

“Our legitimate demands have repeatedly been delayed by procedural hurdles. We are holding this sit-in to ensure their swift implementation,” he said.

He criticised the absence of an effective academic calendar, noting that although examination results are supposed to be published within 75 days, students often wait between six and 10 months.

“One semester ends and another begins before students receive the previous semester’s results,” he said.

Usama also urged the university to institutionalise the recruitment of research assistants, saying the move would improve the quality of research publications and strengthen Jahangirnagar University’s standing in international rankings.

Jucsu Joint Cultural Affairs Secretary Raihan Uddin said academic reform had long been one of the students’ key demands.

“Today we have formally submitted our proposals to all members of the Academic Council. We urge them to accept these demands and help build a more student-friendly academic environment through meaningful reforms,” he said.