Dhaka: Getting enrolled at a renowned public university like Dhaka University (DU) is the most important and difficult challenge for any student of his or her entire life.

This year, a total of 8,58,801 examinees, out of 12,88,757, passed the Higher Secondary Examination (HSC) in all the 10 education boards of the country.

Among the successful students, 25,562 achieved the highest grade, GPA 5, under eight general education boards in addition to 1,244 under the Madrassah Education Board and 2,456 under the Technical and Vocational Education Board, reports the UNB.

But the total number of seats at DU for the first year honours admission seekers is only 7,128 under five faculties.

According to the DU central admissions office this year, some 38 admission seekers vied for each seat, while a total of 272,512 admission-seekers have applied against 7,128 seats for the admissions into the university.

A total of 82,970 admission-seekers vied for 1,750 seats under ‘Ka (A)’ unit while 36,250 for 2,378 seats under ‘Kha (B)’ unit, 27,534 for 1,250 seats under ‘Ga (C)’ unit, 100,614 for 1,615 seats under ‘Gha (D)’ unit and 25,144 for 135 seats under ‘Cha (F)’ unit.

It was shown that many admission seekers did not obtain pass marks in DU admission test, though they obtained GPA 5 in both Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams.

Miazi Saleh bin Hasan, an admission-seeker who passed HSC from Dhaka Board sat for the DU admission under ‘Kha Unit’ and scored pass marks but still he could not be sure about his admission to this University. His serial number is 4390 where the total number of seats available in this unit is just 2,378. Now he is preparing for other universities.

Expressing his disappointment at not getting a chance at DU, Miazi told UNB, ‘I always dreamt of studying at DU because getting admitted to this university can change one’s future life and career.’

Iqbal Biswas, a master’s degree student of Population Science department told UNB, ‘The best achievement of my entire life is getting a chance at DU. The four-year experience at this university has been amazing. The joy of being a student can only truly be realised on a beautiful and large campus like of DU, where creativity floats in the air and spirit of freedom is evident everywhere.’

Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University Prof Dr. Md Akhtaruzzaman admitted the seat crisis at the DU and said, ‘It’s true that our university can’t provide enough seats for the admission seekers. But I think it’s not a major problem as they can have admission to other public and private universities.’

‘As the DU admission process is totally fair, there is no opportunity to get enrolled here adopting unfair means. We’ve no plan to increase the number of seats or open any new department in near future,’ he added.