Ducsu unveils one-year activity, accountability report
Ducsu Details Year of Student-Focused Work as Election Schedule Remains Unclear
Bdbusinessdaily.com – The Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) has presented a year-end account of its work, outlining more than 1,000 initiatives undertaken in 41 areas while raising concerns over funding and the absence of a declared timetable for the next union election.
Ducsu Vice-President Shadik Kayem and General Secretary SM Farhad unveiled the activity and accountability report on 17 September at a gathering outside the Ducsu building. Other union representatives also attended the event, which came shortly after the leadership completed its one-year term on 14 September.
Focus on student services and campus conditions
Shadik said the union had spent the year pursuing student rights and strengthening accountability across a broad range of concerns affecting university life. The report grouped Ducsu's work into 41 fields, reflecting issues that extend from academic support to safety, housing and daily campus access.
Among the measures highlighted were efforts to address the shortage of accommodation in university halls, upgrade reading-room facilities and respond to transport difficulties faced by students who do not live on campus. Ducsu also cited skills-development programmes as part of its work during the year.
For many students, these matters shape their experience at the university beyond the classroom. Hall accommodation can affect whether students have secure and affordable places to stay, while reliable transport is particularly significant for commuters travelling to and from campus each day. Better reading spaces and skills programmes can similarly influence how students use their time outside regular academic hours.
The report also listed actions connected to women students' safety, the prevention of sexual harassment and cyberbullying, healthcare services, campus cleanliness and limiting unauthorised entry to the university. It further referred to demands for increased funding for higher education and research.
These areas place student representation at the intersection of immediate welfare concerns and broader institutional priorities. Safety, health and access to learning resources require sustained attention, while discussions about higher education and research funding carry implications for the academic environment over a longer period.
Budget dispute with university administration
Although the union described extensive activity during its term, Shadik alleged that it did not receive adequate cooperation from the university administration. He said Ducsu had not yet been given its budget and had also not received a clear account of that budget.
"Throughout the year, the university administration treated us unfairly. They have not given us our budget yet, nor have they been able to provide us with an account of the budget," he said.
The allegation puts financial transparency at the centre of Ducsu's accountability discussion. A student union's ability to carry out programmes can depend on access to funds, while clarity around budget allocations is important for students seeking to understand how representative bodies are expected to operate.
Shadik framed the report as an effort to show both what the union had attempted to achieve and the obstacles it faced. The presentation therefore served not only as a summary of initiatives but also as a public statement on Ducsu's relationship with the university administration during the completed term.
Call for roadmap to next Ducsu election
The outgoing leadership said it had repeatedly asked the administration to publish a schedule for the next Ducsu election. Shadik said the demand was included as the first item on the agenda of the union's sixth executive meeting.
However, he said no election roadmap has yet been announced. The lack of a schedule has left uncertainty over the transition to the next elected leadership, despite the formal completion of the current body's one-year tenure on 14 September.
Student-union elections are significant because they determine who will represent students on issues ranging from living conditions and transport to safety and academic facilities. A clear electoral process can also provide students with an opportunity to assess the work of previous representatives and choose new office-bearers.
Shadik said Ducsu's activities had contributed to what he described as a new political culture in Bangladesh. He also voiced concern that campus student elections could again be halted, referring to the period after 1990 when Ducsu and other university student-union elections were absent.
"We fear that the BNP government may follow the same path and silence the voices of students," he said.
His remarks linked the immediate issue of an election schedule with a wider concern about continuity in student representation. The report's release has consequently highlighted two parallel questions: how Ducsu's stated initiatives will be evaluated, and when Dhaka University students will receive a confirmed process for electing their next union leadership.
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