Protesting polytechnic students have temporarily halted their movement for 48 hours following government formation of a committee to address six-point demand.
On Tuesday, April 22, leaders announced this at 8 PM in a press conference held at Dhaka Polytechnic Institute premises, student representatives from Technical Students' Movement Bangladesh.
"We're giving authorities 48 hours to demonstrate meaningful progress," said movement coordinator Rafiqul Islam. "Should our demands remain unaddressed or implementation delayed, we'll be forced to intensify protests nationwide."
Technical and Madrasa Education Division recently established a dedicated committee through official order to develop an implementation roadmap for students' demands.
Committee composition includes Additional Secretary (Planning and Development), Joint Secretary (Technical Subdivision-1), IDEB and IEB representatives, former polytechnic principals, Directorate of Technical Education Director, Engineering Colleges Director and student representatives.
Ministry of Education expressed "respect and solidarity" with protesters through press release, requesting three weeks to formulate comprehensive implementation strategy.
"We've demonstrated immense patience throughout this movement," noted Tahmina Akter, another student leader. "Nearly 85% of technical graduates face unemployment or underemployment whilst diploma certificates remain undervalued in job markets despite Bangladesh's growing industrial sector requiring two lakh technical professionals annually."
Students' six-point demands include establishing Technical Education Reform Commission, upgrading diploma engineer status in public service, creating dedicated technical education service commission, implementing technical qualification framework, reorganising curriculum, and expanding employment opportunities.
Technical Students' Movement began four weeks ago with participation from 49 polytechnic institutions across Bangladesh, representing over one lakh twenty thousand students nationwide.
"We remain cautiously optimistic," concluded Islam. "Swift action must ensure progress of Bangladesh's technical education system, which directly impacts our industrial development and economic growth."
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