Uncertainty looms large over the academic life of thousands of students as at least 21 educational institutions in the capital's Dhanmondi residential area brace themselves for relocation.

The Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), in the last one month, served notices to the management of different educational and commercial institutions, asking them to remove their establishments from the area within seven days.

The move came following a cabinet decision in early April.

Those who have received the notices include 15 schools, four universities and two colleges, The Daily Star has learnt.

DSCC officials say they would gradually serve notices to other entities running in the residential area “illegally”.

On July 20, the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), which is launching drives against commercial establishments in several residential areas, gave an advertisement in different dailies, asking such institutions to relocate.

Later on August 1, the Supreme Court ruled that the authorities concerned should stop unauthorised commercial activities in Dhanmondi to protect its residential “character” and environment.

Contacted, the school authorities said they will comply with the SC order and the government decision.

They, however, said shifting those institutions, which have a lot of stakeholders and been operating in the area for long, would be a mammoth task, and it would require time.

Meanwhile, the government move aimed at the relocation has created much anxiety among the guardians and teachers who said they would be in deep trouble if the schools, colleges, and universities are shifted from Dhanmondi.

"What would we do if my children's school is shifted? And where should the school go in this already packed city?” said Sejuti Rahman, a mother of two sons studying at the Maple Leaf International School.

Her husband's office is in Banani but they have been living in a rented flat in Dhanmondi since 2008 only because of their children's education.

"If the school is relocated, we'll have to change our home, and it will be a great hassle," she said.

Reaz Uddin, a local, said, “Like Rome was not built in a day, Dhanmondi residential area did not turn into a commercial area overnight.”

 "Successive governments either allowed or ignored the issue when commercial entities as well as hospitals and educational institutions sprang up to meet the demand of the burgeoning population in the area,” he said.

"Now this new decision of the government to uproot these institutions would simply throw thousand of children's academic life into uncertainty,” said Reaz, who has a son studying at a school running in the area since 1972.

Maksudur Rahman, who lives on Road 8/A in Dhanmondi, said, "I don't know why trade licences were given to the institutions which are in this residential area. I am not sure how the schools would be able to relocate in such a short time.”

The government should reconsider the matter, he added.

A senior teacher of Dhanmondi Tutorial, an English-medium school, said, "Where would we relocate our institution to? It is an educational institution, not a shop that could be kept closed for a month and then relocated to another place.

"It is quite difficult to shift such a school all of a sudden,” he said.

 Currently, some 1,300 students are studying at three branches of the school, he added.

Abul Quasem Haider, founder chairman of Eastern University, said it would not be possible for the institutions to shift to another place in just seven days. The university on Road-3 in Dhanmondi got the DSCC notice on July 19.

He said they were building their permanent campus and would be able to go there in a year.

According to a Rajuk official, when Dhanmondi started its journey as a planned residential area in late 1950s, it had only three schools.

But over the decades, Dhanmondi has evolved into an affluent residential area, having a huge number of residents, schools, colleges, and private universities and these have eventually damaged the residential character of the area, said the official.

In 2012, the High Court (HC) declared illegal all commercial operations in Dhanmondi following a writ petition by the Dhanmondi Residential Welfare Association.

The court also directed the authorities to remove such institutions from the area.

It, however, exempted the commercial establishments at Mirpur Road, Satmasjid Road, Dhanmondi-2 and Dhanmondi-27 from its order as they had already been declared as commercial areas.

On this August 1, the Supreme Court upheld the HC verdict. However, the full text of the verdict has not been released yet.

On Tuesday, MA Matin Chowdhury, general secretary of Dhanmondi Residential Welfare Association, said the commercial entities would have to shift their businesses on their own.

More than 300 commercial establishments are now operating in Dhanmondi residential area and of them, 56 are schools and some 8 to 10 are colleges and universities, he told The Daily Star.

These institutions have around 40,000 students, Matin said.

"Our lawyer will serve notices to them giving specific time for relocation. If they do not shift within the given time, we will file a petition seeking action against them on charge of contempt of court," he added.

On April 7, LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain at a press briefing said any commercial entity in the government-approved residential areas is illegal and they must go within six months from April 4 as per a cabinet decision.

The minister termed educational institutions both "service oriented and commercial entities" and said measures would be taken based on the opinions of the locals.

Mostofa Kamal, chief revenue officer of the DSCC, said they started serving notices to the illegal commercial establishments in Dhanmondi residential area after the Eid-ul-Fitr.

"It is a continuous process and we will serve notice to all of them. We have given a specific timeframe, and if they do not relocate by that time, actions would be taken as per the law," he told The Daily Star.

Asked, he said many of the institutions got trade licences due to a “fault in the system”.

Visiting the area, this newspaper saw that signboards of some of the schools there had already been removed. A few other schools were shifting their campuses.

On Monday, the Maple Leaf International School was shifting one of its campuses from Road 11/A in Dhanmondi as per the SC verdict.

Ali Karam Reza, principal of the school, said they received a notice from the DSCC on August 4.

"It is the students who will face the problem in the long run. Where would such a huge number of students go?” he said.

The school has over 5,000 students and 400 teachers at its 12 campuses, he said.

"The notice gave us just seven days for relocation. Is it possible to do such a thing in seven days?" said the principal, adding that they would obey the SC order.

He, however, said the English Medium School Owners Forum would discuss the matter and take further decision.

GM Nizam Uddin, secretary general of the Bangladesh English Medium School Association, said the association members held a meeting recently, and decided to seek time from the government for the relocation.