BU's Reading Room facing seat shortage
Abdullah Al Mamun, BU
Barishal University, a beacon of higher education in South Bengal, has a captivating campus surrounded by greenery on the banks of Kirtankhola. The university, which started its journey in 2011, currently has about 11,000 students.
But even after 14 years, various crises have not ended. One of them is the severe shortage of seats in the reading room of the Central Library.
There are only 120 seats allocated for 11,000 students. As a result, many students have to return home disappointed because they cannot find a place in the reading room every day. Some are forced to study on benches outside the reading room. Students are suffering greatly due to the shortage of seats.
When we spoke to 20-25 students who come to study in the library's reading room while reporting, they said that every seat in the reading room is filled up soon after 9 am every day. If we come a little late, around 10 am, there are no more seats available. Then we either have to go outside to study or return home with our bags in frustration. Students complain that this is how a university's central library reading room can function? Despite repeated complaints to the authorities, there is no remedy.
Md. Ikhwanul Islam, a 9th batch student of the Marketing Department, said, "The number of seats in the reading room of Barisal University Central Library is very inadequate compared to the number of students.
Every day, hundreds of students come to the library and leave disappointed because they cannot find a place.
Many times we have to sit on benches outside to study, which is very uncomfortable. Some people study standing up, which is in no way in line with the standards of a university. I demand from the administration to urgently arrange adequate seats in the reading room."
When asked what steps have been taken by the university administration to solve the problem, the university's deputy register librarian, Madhusudan Halder, said, "Due to the shortage of seats, students have to sit outside the reading room and return when they cannot find a place. This is also a problem for us. We have to do everything through a process.
