Cox’s Bazar Government College has received approval to introduce master’s final-year courses in five more subjects — English, history, physics, chemistry and zoology — from the 2024-25 academic session.
The Government College-4 branch of the Secondary and Higher Education Division issued the approval on October 4. In a notification signed by Deputy Secretary Dr Jannatul Ferdous, the National University registrar was asked to take necessary measures after the college principal submitted an application.
With the addition of the five subjects, students will be able to pursue master’s final-year courses in 13 subjects at the college.
The eight subjects already offering master’s final-year courses are Bangla, Islamic history and culture, political science, economics, accounting, management, botany and mathematics.
The college has also received approval to introduce master’s preliminary courses in Bangla, English, economics, accounting, management, mathematics and chemistry. Students will be able to enroll in those courses after completion of the National University’s affiliation process.
Principal Abul Hasnat Mohammad Fazlul Haque said student intake in the newly introduced subjects would gradually increase.
“If 100 students are admitted to the National University now, there will be scope for 500 students in the future. The number of seats will gradually increase. This is only the beginning. We have already submitted a report to the National University so that students can be admitted to these subjects from the next session,” he said.
However, he said the college is facing a shortage of teachers. The college has sent a list of vacant and newly created posts to the ministry, he said, adding that teacher appointments would need to be prioritized alongside introducing new subjects.
The expansion is expected to reduce the need for students to move to Dhaka or Chattogram for postgraduate studies in subjects previously unavailable at the college.
Farhadul Islam, a former English student of the 2019-20 academic session, said he had to move to Dhaka after completing his honours degree because the college did not offer a master’s course in English.
“Studying for a master’s degree in Dhaka was very challenging. I had to travel on risky roads, and it cost me a lot of money and time. If the opportunity had been available in Cox’s Bazar, I would not have had to go through so much hardship,” he said.
The college previously did not offer master’s courses in mathematics and management. The college received approval for the two programmes from the 2023-24 academic session, and students enrolled in them this year.
Minhaz Uddin, general secretary of the college unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, welcomed the approval, saying it would expand higher education opportunities for students.
Stakeholders, however, stressed the need to expand teaching staff and infrastructure to match the growing number of postgraduate subjects.
By Abdu Rashid Manik
Photo: Abdu Rashid Manik
