Barishal Women’s Polytechnic Institute Begins Academic Activities
Barishal Women’s Polytechnic Institute has begun limited academic activities after completing construction and admitting its first batch of students. However, the institution has yet to be transferred to the revenue budget, leaving recruitment of teachers and staff and other administrative matters unresolved.
The Education Engineering Department (EED) has completed about 95 per cent of the construction work on the only women’s polytechnic institute in the Barishal region. The project was funded by domestic resources at a cost of nearly Tk 60 crore. The remaining workshop building is expected to be handed over between December and January, after which the project will be declared complete, sources said.
Academic activities began this academic year for the first time, with 48 female students admitted to Architecture and Computer Science and Technology programmes. The institute is currently operating with only six teachers. The vice-principal of Barishal Polytechnic Institute has also been given additional responsibility as the principal of the newly built women’s institute.
The EED has completed construction of the six-storey administrative building, six-storey academic building, five-storey teachers’ dormitory, four-storey student hostel with 200 beds, three-storey staff quarters with six residential units, and the principal’s residence, which has one floor built on a two-storey foundation. It has sent letters to the local authorities to take over the buildings.
A Shaheed Minar has also been built on the campus with government funds. Meanwhile, construction of the six-storey workshop building is about 85 per cent complete. The building is expected to be handed over to the institute between December and January, said Shahidul Islam, executive engineer at the EED’s Barishal office.
The institute has been built on nearly three acres of land. The EED has also completed construction of its extensive boundary wall and two entrance gates.
Acting Principal of Barishal Women’s Polytechnic Institute S. M. Shamchun Nahar told Daily Inqilab that academic activities began this academic year in line with government directives. Six teachers have been brought in on deputation from different polytechnic institutes to support the initial operations.
She expressed hope that the recruitment process for the approved staff positions would be completed after the institution is transferred to the revenue budget in accordance with government rules.
However, a source at the Directorate of Technical Education said the institute’s staffing proposal had yet to receive final approval. The proposed structure includes 95 teaching posts, of which only six have so far been filled through deputation.
Of the 54 proposed posts in various technical sections, five have been filled through deputation. The proposed staffing structure also includes 45 employee positions, while six employees have been brought in so far. The institute is also expected to recruit outsourced support staff for fourth-class positions.
As the institution has not yet been transferred to the revenue budget, it has been unable to complete recruitment or begin full-scale academic activities.
Asked about the matter, Principal S. M. Shamchun Nahar said the Directorate of Technical Education and the Ministry of Education were aware of the situation, and senior officials were working to resolve it. She added that the transfer could face complications until the project period ends. The EED said the project is scheduled to run until June 30.
She also expressed hope that the issues would be resolved and the institutions would become fully operational once the construction project for three women’s polytechnic institutes in three divisional cities, including Barishal, is completed and the institutes are transferred to the revenue budget under the usual procedure.
