Jahangirnagar University faces severe academic crisis amid classroom and faculty shortages
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Jahangirnagar University is grappling with a severe infrastructure and faculty crisis as rapid expansion in student enrollment and the addition of new departments outpace the institution’s physical and human resources. Academic activities in the Faculty of Law and Justice, the Institute of Comparative Literature and Culture, and the Faculty of Business Studies have been severely hampered for years, forcing students to attend classes in borrowed rooms or auditoriums while departments rely heavily on guest lecturers due to a lack of permanent teaching staff.
The Faculty of Law and Justice, established 15 years ago, currently serves 370 students across six batches without a single dedicated classroom. Forced to operate out of the Social Science faculty building, the department lacks adequate space even for faculty offices. Students often report that classes are interrupted or relocated to the distant Zahir Raihan auditorium to accommodate other departments. The crisis is compounded by a faculty shortage; of the 12 permanent positions, eight faculty members are currently on study leave, leaving the bulk of the curriculum to be delivered by guest instructors whose irregular schedules frequently disrupt the academic calendar.
The Institute of Comparative Literature and Culture, which has grown from 25 to 245 students since 2018, manages its seven batches with only two dedicated classrooms. With only six permanent faculty members, the institute is often forced to utilize a laboratory in the Zoology department located a kilometer away. Similarly, the Faculty of Business Studies, which manages 1,543 students across four departments, is restricted to just 12 classrooms. With no seminar rooms, common areas, or adequate computer facilities, the faculty struggle to maintain a consistent academic schedule, as the limited space leaves no margin for scheduling conflicts or makeup classes.
Despite a massive 1,445-crore taka university-wide development project currently underway, these departments have been notably excluded from new infrastructure plans. University engineers have stated that these needs were not included in the original project proposal, though future developments may address these gaps. Students allege that successive university administrations have offered repeated assurances to resolve the crisis, yet these promises remain unfulfilled.
Faculty deans have voiced strong criticism regarding the current state of affairs, noting that the environment is fundamentally unsuitable for education. Professor Md. Rabiul Islam of the Law faculty pointed out the absence of a “moot court”—a vital facility for legal training—while the Dean of the Faculty of Business Studies, Professor Abu Saif Md. Muntakimul Bari, emphasized that the departments remain trapped in aging, inadequate facilities without any planned expansion.
University administration officials, including Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor Shamshul Alam, acknowledged the strain caused by high rates of faculty study leaves but noted the difficulty in restricting academic opportunities for staff. Newly appointed Vice-Chancellor Professor Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan stated that while current efforts are focused on temporary space management in existing lecture halls, the administration is drafting a new project proposal. He expressed an intent to seek ministerial funding to secure permanent buildings for the affected departments, aiming for a long-term resolution rather than ongoing, ad-hoc adjustments.
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