Classes during Ramadan: a major setback

With barely a month to get accustomed to what was once the norm, life has thrown yet another hurdle at the students – the beginning of Ramadan. While classes during Ramadan are not an unheard-of phenomenon, given the two-year hiatus from physical classes, in tandem with the massive hike in traffic congestion, in-person classes become quite an ordeal. For the convenience of the students, class durations have been shortened, and a new schedule has been announced.
However, going to classes during Ramadan remains a challenge. Solely for the sake of attendance, students journey to university sleep-deprived and over-worked. Barely making it to the classroom, students either lose focus or doze off, defeating the purpose of attending. One student (Sophomore, ENH) states, “I hardly get to be home, and when I am, I spend the majority of my time recovering from the exhausting day I have had. These days I can barely keep my head above water trying to juggle everything at once.” In aiming to grow spiritually and thrive academically, students are helplessly stuck in an agonising cycle.
Not to mention, in the midst of Dhaka’s ever-increasing traffic ordeal, commuting in this sweltering weather can be quite aggravating, especially for those who live from university. Another student (Freshmen, BBS) explains, “To avoid Dhaka’s horrid traffic, I have to leave the house quite early in the morning. While the journey to the university goes smoothly, the journey back is anything but, and the fear of not making it home by iftar time starts settling in.”
With academics and Ramadan taking up most of their time, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Working mostly on autopilot, the students are being pushed to their limits by doing classes that demand the utmost attention and energy. However, life is nothing if not full of hiccups, and we must learn to adapt and overcome every obstacle that comes our way. Circumstances do not always adhere to our convenience, so we must condition ourselves to manoeuvre past our obstacles. This new hurdle of Ramadan classes is simply one of life’s many challenges.