It took less than 72 hours for the state minister for Primary and Mass Education, Bobby Hajjaj, to walk back on his now-infamous podcast remarks regarding Dhaka University’s (DU) status as a glorified “coaching centre”. His stance regarding DU’s seemingly dwindling academic inclinations and an unfounded comparison to private institutions had caused a riot on social media.
“What North South University (NSU) and BRAC University contribute to research output, DU is yet to yield a fraction of,” he said.
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Following the state minister’s remarks, several students took to DU’s TSC, protesting the minister’s comments, and declaring him a persona non grata on the DU campus.
However, what that storm of the week led to was a very real question: Was the criticism by the state minister justified, or were his comments just out of touch?