At Suhrawardy College, nearly 99 percent of students pay the bus fee but get no bus service

Most students of Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College are being deprived of bus facilities even though they pay a fixed transport fee every year. The college has no bus service of its own. The few seats on its two rented buses are grossly inadequate compared with the needs of its 12,000 students.

According to information on the college website, the college currently has about 12,000 students. A bus fare of 600 taka per year is collected from each student, bringing the annual income from this head to about 72 lakh taka.

But the picture of who actually receives the transport facility is different. The college’s two rented buses have only 150 seats in total. By that calculation, only 1.25 percent of students get a chance to sit on a bus. In other words, the remaining roughly 98.75 percent of students are paying the transport fee compulsorily without receiving any benefit.

According to the college bus management committee, the daily contract rent for the two rented buses is 22,000 taka, which was increased by 10 percent after fuel prices rose. Classes and examinations are held on an average of 185 to 190 days a year, excluding government and weekly holidays. By that calculation, the annual rent for the two buses comes to between 40 lakh 70 thousand and 41 lakh 80 thousand taka.

In addition, the running costs of a microbus bought with student funding, along with its driver’s salary and fuel costs, are also paid from this fund. Even after meeting all expenses, a significant surplus should remain from the annual income of 72 lakh taka, yet there is no visible initiative to expand the transport service.

Students have expressed anger over the transport crisis and the inequality. Farzana Sabrin Brinta, a first-year student of the botany department, said she had taken admission at Suhrawardy College even after getting a chance at another university, but was now being deprived of various facilities. She said the college, located within Dhaka, is largely neglected and the government should pay more attention to it. The college has no bus service of its own, the two buses it has are also rented, and students are not getting bus facilities accordingly, she said.

Nabila Wahab, a third-year student of the Islamic studies department, said students were very excited when a new bus arrived at the college. Afterwards, online polls on various college platforms asked which routes had the most students. Although the Mirpur route came up there, the college administration later made no bus arrangement on that route. She said bus fares are being taken even though students do not get the facility. In her view, resolving the bus crisis would increase students’ class attendance and help them achieve better results.

Md Mehedi Hasan, a fourth-year student of the accounting department, said students have to travel crammed together on the bus running on the Badda route. Because the class schedules for honours and intermediate students are not coordinated, many students are deprived of this bus facility. Yet everyone pays bus fare to the college, and even after paying, not everyone receives the facility equally, he said.

Asked about these complaints, Tariqul Islam, a member of the bus management committee and a teacher in the Islamic studies department, expressed his inability to provide any information. He said everything related to the buses is looked after by the college principal, and that the convener of the bus management committee should be contacted for details.

Kazi Wahed, convener of the college bus management committee, said increasing the number of buses had been discussed in a meeting before, but the principal had then said it was not possible. If students make a specific demand and there is administrative approval and sufficient funds, increasing the number of buses could be considered. In his words, this is the students’ right. He also said responsibility for the transport fund lies with the college administration and the committee cannot withdraw money directly. If students submit a written demand, a logical solution could be sought through discussion with the principal and the administration, he said.

The college principal, Dr Kakoli Mukhopadhyay, said she had introduced two buses on two routes after taking charge. In addition, there are various transport-sector expenses including maintenance of the college microbus, the driver’s salary and bus rent. Even if the fund has enough money to buy two buses, whether they can be run in the long term must be considered, she said. However, if there are sufficient funds, the number of buses will be increased and the matter will be discussed with the bus management committee. She also said everything in the transport sector is transparent and no one can embezzle money from this head. After meeting expenses from the annual transport income, the remaining money stays deposited in that same head, she said.