Dhaka, Apr 17 (V7N)- Polytechnic students demanding reforms in the technical education sector have declared a tougher movement after failing to reach a satisfactory outcome from their meeting with the Ministry of Education on Thursday.

The meeting, held at the Secretariat, began around 12 noon and continued for nearly three hours. An 18-member delegation of the Technical Students' Movement, Bangladesh sat with Rehana Yasmin, Additional Secretary (Technical Division) of the Technical and Madrasa Education Department.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Masfiq Islam, central representative of the students’ movement, expressed disappointment. “We didn’t see any visible steps or commitment from the ministry. This meeting yielded no results. As such, we are going ahead with a stricter movement to realize our six-point demand,” he said.

Another student representative, Jobair Patwari, expressed frustration over what he termed a lack of seriousness by the ministry. “Our movement has been going on for eight months. We are not here to inconvenience the public—we are forced into this. The ministry wasted time with irrelevant discussions. We need quick solutions, not indefinite promises.”

The Six-Point Demand of the Students:

  1. Cancel Illegal Promotions: Revoke the High Court verdict promoting craft instructors to junior instructor posts, change the title of craft instructors, and dismiss those involved in the legal battle. Cancel all questionable recruitments made in 2021 and amend controversial recruitment rules.

  2. Age Limit and Curriculum Reform: Cancel open-age admissions in diploma courses. Introduce a four-year standard curriculum aligned with global models, and gradually implement English-medium academic programs.

  3. Ensure Proper Placement for Diploma Engineers: Take legal action against government and autonomous institutions appointing diploma engineers in positions below their qualifications.

  4. Stop Non-Technical Appointments in Technical Sector: Legally ban the appointment of non-technical personnel to key posts in the technical education sector and ensure recruitment of technically educated professionals and qualified teachers.

  5. Establish a Technical Education Ministry: Create an independent Ministry of Technical and Higher Education and form a Technical Education Reform Commission to develop skilled manpower.

  6. Establish a Technical University: Set up a high-quality technical university for polytechnic and monotechnic graduates. Ensure 100% seat allocation for such students in the four upcoming engineering colleges (Narail, Natore, Khagrachari, Thakurgaon) under temporary campuses and DUET.

On Wednesday, thousands of students gathered at Satrasta intersection in Dhaka, while students in districts across the country joined road blockade programs in solidarity. Later in the day, Shoaib Ahmad Khan, Director General of the Technical Education Department, visited the protest site and assured students that their demands would be addressed. He also stated that there would be no quota for craft instructors in future promotions.

However, students remained firm, demanding written confirmation of the steps taken and a time-bound action plan.

While a nationwide railway blockade was announced for Thursday, students temporarily relaxed the program after receiving high-level assurances and agreed to participate in the meeting with ministry officials. With no fruitful resolution emerging from the talks, the students are now preparing for more intense demonstrations.

The Technical Students' Movement, Bangladesh has said they will announce the next phase of their protest shortly, as their demand for structural reforms and institutional accountability in the technical education sector remains unmet.

END/MSS/AJ