Touhid Hossain Sarkar,Comilla:
Comilla, March 22: Students of Comilla Polytechnic Institute today (March 22) held a protest march and road blockade demanding the cancellation of the 30% quota reserved for craft instructors. The students say that only diploma engineers should be given opportunities in 10th grade government jobs and the quota set for craft instructors should be canceled immediately.
Students gathered on the campus since morning and observed a human chain program. Later, they took a protest march and took position on the main road in front of the institute, as a result, the road adjacent to Kotbari Polytechnic Institute was blocked at one stage. The students shouted various slogans, saying, “Remove the craft instructor, save technical education” and “We will protect our rights even if we give blood”.
The main demands of the movement:
According to the students’ demands:
1. 30% quota should be abolished: Students are claiming that this court ruling is unreasonable. According to them, it will reduce the quality of engineering education and deprive truly talented people from jobs.
2. The post of craft instructor should be abolished: They feel that since craft instructors do not have proper engineering education, they should be appointed as lab assistants.
3. Open recruitment should be made for the post of Junior Instructor: Students want, recruitment should be ensured only for diploma engineers on the basis of examination and merit.
Warning to students
The students have warned of taking more stringent actions in the future if their demands are not met. They said that they may block the Dhaka-Comilla highway, boycott classes and boycott exams.
Experts’ response
There are different views among experts in technical education on the movement. Many say that reserving quotas for craft instructors will ruin the quality of engineering education, as it is not possible to teach without adequate knowledge of engineering. On the other hand, experts who support the court’s ruling believe that craft instructors have been contributing to the education system for a long time, so they should be given opportunities to improve.
Administration to control the situation
The administration of Comilla Polytechnic Institute has not yet issued an official statement. However, additional security measures have been taken on the campus and surrounding areas to keep the situation under control.
This movement is not limited to Comilla, but is also spreading among technical students across the country. Students from other polytechnic institutes are also expressing solidarity on social media. It is feared that the movement may spread further if a solution is not found soon.
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