Students of engineering universities under the banner of ‘Engineers' Rights Movement’ on Thursday announced a "complete shutdown" of programme at all the engineering university campuses across the country until their three demands are met.
The announcement came from the movement's president, Md Wali Ullah, at a press conference held at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, in Dhaka on Thursday evening.
Wali said the decision aims to press for the fulfilment of their demands while avoiding public inconvenience. "We will not launch any street protests at this time because we do not want to cause public suffering."
However, the movement plans to organise a national engineers' rally next week, and rallies in every divisional city next month. These gatherings are intended to mobilise support and highlight the engineers' ongoing demands.
At the briefing, Mahmudur Rahman Shaheed, an adviser for the Engineering Rights Movement, highlighted the challenges engineers face in securing government jobs.
"We are not being allowed to apply for 10th-grade jobs, and there are no circulars for 9th-grade positions. In this situation, we can't become engineers by studying engineering," he said.
Meanwhile, following a promise by Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md Sazzat Ali on Wednesday night, an investigation committee regarding the police attack on students in front of Hotel Intercontinental has not yet been formed.
In protest, the students staged a procession from BUET Shaheed Minar toward DMP headquarters on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) authorities have suspended all undergraduate examinations as student protests to press home three demands continue across engineering universities.
Notably, students at engineering universities in the country are boycotting classes and examinations on Thursday as part of a "complete shutdown" programme announced by Engineers' Rights Movement General Secretary Sakibul Haque Lipu last night to press home three demands.
At the centre of the movement is the call to make entry tests mandatory for all candidates seeking recruitment in the ninth grade of engineering or for positions such as assistant engineer.
Eligibility, they insist, should be restricted to those holding at least a BSc degree in engineering. They also oppose promotions through quotas or by creating equivalent posts under different names.
Their second demand is to open recruitment examinations for the 10th grade of technical or equivalent posts, such as sub-assistant engineer, to both diploma and BSc degree holders.
The third demand seeks legal action against those using the title of "engineer" without a BSc degree in engineering.
On Wednesday, the government formed a committee to verify the professional demands of BSc and diploma holders and provide recommendations. However, engineering students have objected to the current committee composition, demanding the inclusion of two academicians from BUET and one from RUET.
