DE Online Desk :
Disheartened by what they termed an “unproductive” meeting with education officials, polytechnic students have declared a six-point demand and warned of intensifying their movement in the coming days.
The students, under the banner of Technical Students Movement Bangladesh, expressed their frustration following a three-hour-long meeting with officials at the Secretariat that, according to them, yielded no tangible outcome.
An 18-member delegation met with Rehana Yasmin, Additional Secretary of the Technical and Madrasa Education Division, around noon on Thursday.
By the time they exited at around 3 PM, it was evident that the students were deeply disappointed.”We were misled,” said a spokesperson for the group.
“We were under the impression that we’d be speaking directly with the Education Advisor. Instead, we were handed over to an Additional Secretary who merely received our demands in writing and assured us they would be forwarded.”
The students had earlier postponed a planned railway blockade across the country after receiving the government’s invitation to the meeting.
This came in the wake of a day-long road blockade at Tejgaon’s Sat Rasta intersection on Wednesday, as well as simultaneous protests outside polytechnic institutes nationwide.
While the ongoing protests were briefly halted in anticipation of a fruitful dialogue, student leaders now vow to resume their movement with renewed force.
“We are going back to our campuses to regroup and announce fresh programmes,” said another student representative.The Six-Point Demands are:
1.Withdrawal of the 30% promotion quota for Craft Instructors, which students claim undermines merit-based career progression.
2.Introduction of a four-year quality curriculum, with emphasis on English-medium instruction to enhance global competitiveness.
3.Proper job placement for Diploma Engineers, ensuring fair employment opportunities post-graduation.
4.Reservation of technical management positions for technically qualified individuals, rather than generalists.
5.Establishment of an independent Ministry for Technical Education, to ensure specialized policy focus and governance.
6.Creation of a dedicated Technical University, aimed at advancing technical education and research.
Student leaders have reiterated that unless their demands are met through direct engagement with higher-level decision-makers, their movement will only intensify in the coming days.