Dhaka University's Library Fine Is One Taka — but Paying It Means a Trip to the Bank

The fine is just one taka. But to pay it, a Dhaka University student has to go to a bank and stand in line. Students face this situation when they return library books eight or nine days late.

The rule has been in place for years at the university's central library and the science library under it. While many other university services have moved online, the way library fines are paid has not changed.

The issue came back into discussion through a student's social media post. On Thursday, Nabila Haque, a student of the physics department from the 2023-24 session, posted about it on her Facebook account.

For returning a book eight or nine days late, the Science Library fined Nabila Haque one taka. The money has to be deposited at the Janata Bank in the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) area of the university.

Nabila Haque said the book's due date fell during the Puja holidays, so she could not return it on time. In her words, having to head to a bank for one taka is what is annoying.

Her post also carried a photo of the library's fine collection form. Alongside her name, department, hall and library card information, the form records the fine amount as 'one taka'. An official of the library signed the form on November 3.

University sources say the Science Library is run under Dhaka University's central library. The libraries of the university's various halls and departments, however, operate under their own rules.

The central library's own website shows two different fine rates. Its 'fine details' section says students are charged 50 paisa for the first and second weeks of delay, one taka for the third and fourth weeks, and three taka from the fifth week. Whether those rates apply per week or in total for the stated period is not clear.

The ordinance-based policy published on the same website, in its rule 14, instead speaks of a fine of 25 paisa per book for each week or part of a week of delay for students. Under that provision the fine was to be collected in cash at the university's accounts office, yet students now have to go to a bank. The website carries no explanation of which rule is currently in force.

Mohammad Mostakim, a student of Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall who studies regularly at the central library, said the university could bring fine payment under online services if it wished. Going to a bank and standing in line to deposit a fine of just one taka is a kind of suffering for students, he said, and paying fines online would reduce both time and hassle.

The central library's acting librarian, Professor Kazi Mostak Gausul Haque, called the rule of paying a one-taka fine through a bank irrational. He said the rule has been in circulation for a long time, roughly 40 to 50 years or even earlier. At present, payment through a bank is the only method of depositing fine money, but he will discuss with higher authorities whether an alternative arrangement can be introduced for paying small fines.

The university's pro-vice-chancellor (administration), Professor Mohammad Almozaddeddi Alfesani, said that because all Dhaka University transactions go through banks, book-return fines also have to be paid at a bank. The process students must go through to pay a small fine works as a kind of punishment, he said, warning them not to delay returning books deliberately in future. But he also said an initiative will be taken to change the old system, and the university administration will work so that students can pay fines using QR codes.

Earlier, in a notice on May 13, 2025, the university's public relations office had said that from the 2024-25 session, first-year students could deposit various fees, including deposits for departments, institutes and halls, online or at the relevant office, so they would not have to stand in long bank queues. Even after that initiative, the bank remains the only resort for paying the central library's one-taka fine.