Research opportunities trapped in a web of conditions

Research is the main way for any university to improve. But the recent research policy of Jagannath University has created a strong reaction among the students. According to the new decision, only 16 out of 80 students will get the opportunity to do a thesis, which is disappointing to the students. On January 19, a memorandum signed by the university’s Registrar Professor Dr. Md. Gias Uddin issued a policy regarding the distribution of theses, which is causing anger among the students. They said that this discriminatory policy is limiting their research opportunities and hindering the opportunities for higher education abroad.

The policy states that only students with a minimum CGPA of 3.00 will get the opportunity to do a thesis at the postgraduate level. If more than 80 students are admitted in a department, only 10 percent and if less than 80, only 20 percent of the students will be able to do a thesis. That is, only 16 students will get a thesis against 80 students. Again, if the number of seats in a department is 30, then only six students will get the opportunity to do a thesis as 20 percent. In addition, the supervisors of the students will be selected through a lottery or will be determined by the method adopted by the academic committee of the department and institute. To become a supervisor, one must have a PhD, MPhil or Masters degree with a thesis. A teacher can be the supervisor of a maximum of three students.

There has been anger among the students of the university since the issue of imposing these conditions for students to take the thesis came to the fore. Akram Hossain, a student of the Chemistry Department of Jagannath University in the 2020-21 session, expressed his anger and

said that the main strength of universities is research. But where the world is moving towards higher research, our university is hindering research by giving new conditions. Nowshin Nawar Jaya, a student of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, said that importance should be given to the choice of students in research. If the wishes of the students are not reflected in the thesis, the quality of research will decrease.

Jagannath University has made significant achievements in research in recent years. In 2022, the university achieved first place in chemistry research among public universities in Bangladesh in Spain’s Simago Institution Ranking. In November 2022, Jagannath University’s Chemistry Department Associate Professor Dr. Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman discovered a method to solve the energy problem from plastic. 95 researchers from Jagannath University have been included in the 2023 list published by the internationally renowned AD Scientific Index. In addition, the budget in the research sector has also increased consistently. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, 32.2 crore taka has been allocated for this sector. However, due to such a unilateral decision, JB students are losing hope in research.

Director of the Research Cell Professor Imranul Haque said, we do not want to limit the scope of research. The policy can be reconsidered by considering the demands of the students. University Vice-Chancellor Professor Md. Rezaul Karim said, we have formed a committee regarding this thesis. They will give a report. According to their report, a new decision will come soon. I hope a good decision will come.

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