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Dhaka's "Clean Campus" Campaign: A Statistical MisunderstandingThe University of Dhaka (D... Dhaka's "Clean Campus" Campaign: A Statistical Misunderstanding
The University of Dhaka (DU), a historic institution in Dhaka, Bangladesh, recently launched a "clean campus" initiative. The stated goal: to reclaim public space, restore order, and instill discipline. Initial reports lauded the effort, but a closer look at the numbers reveals a more complex, and frankly, troubling picture.
The campaign, led by the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU), focused on removing marginalized populations – tea sellers, snack vendors, cobblers, and street dwellers – from the campus. This mirrors a broader trend in Dhaka, where municipal "beautification" projects often involve the eviction of the homeless and the bulldozing of informal structures. The stated justification is cleanliness and order, but the underlying logic is one of erasure.
The Informal Economy: An 80% Oversight
Here's where the data gets interesting. Dr. Shamsad Mortuza, professor of English at Dhaka University, points out that an estimated 80% of workers in Dhaka operate outside any formal contract. That's not a typo. Eighty percent. This informal sector, often unseen and unacknowledged, forms the very foundation upon which the formal economy – offices, malls, and yes, even universities – rests.
The "clean campus" campaign, in its zeal for order, seems to have completely missed this crucial point. It treats the informal sector as a pollutant, something to be washed away, rather than recognizing its vital role in the city's ecosystem. It's like trying to fix a car by removing the engine. (A dramatic analogy, perhaps, but not entirely inaccurate.)
This isn't just about abstract economic theory. Consider the daily lives of Dhaka's middle and upper classes. They hire drivers, maids, security guards, and tutors. These "hired" individuals, in turn, rely on the informal sector – transport workers, food carts, street hawkers, and waste pickers – for their own survival and growth. It's a self-supporting ecosystem, a terrarium of interdependence.
And this is the part of the report that I find genuinely puzzling. How could student leaders, presumably educated and aware of the city's realities, overlook such a fundamental aspect of Dhaka's economy? The campaign, while perhaps well-intentioned, reveals a deep-seated disconnect between the university and the city it inhabits.
A Missed Opportunity: "Clean Campus, Kind Campus"
Mortuza suggests a more constructive approach: a "Clean Campus, Kind Campus" project that highlights Dhaka University as the country's urban conscience. This would involve mapping vending spaces that don't block walkways, developing start-up and microcredit models for campus vendors, and creating on-campus jobs for students living under the poverty line.
The numbers tell a clear story. The "clean campus" campaign, in its current form, is not only ineffective but also counterproductive. It reinforces elitism, perpetuates inequality, and ignores the vital role of the informal sector in Dhaka's economy.
The appointment of new Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in 15 districts, including Dhaka, ahead of the national election (as of November 8th, 2025), adds another layer of complexity to the situation. Dhaka, Khulna among 15 districts that get new DCs While the reshuffle may be routine, it also underscores the government's focus on maintaining order and control, a mindset that could further marginalize the informal sector.
The Wrong Equation
The "clean campus" campaign is a statistical misunderstanding masquerading as progress. It's a prime example of how good intentions, when divorced from data and empathy, can lead to disastrous results. The campaign's legacy will not be the litter it removed, but the humanity it overlooked.