Polytechnic students across Bangladesh have decided to temporarily suspend their ongoing protests following the government’s decision to form an eight-member committee tasked with drafting a roadmap to address their six-point charter of demands.
The announcement was made on Tuesday (22 April) at a press conference held by the “Technical Student Movement, Bangladesh” at Dhaka Polytechnic Institute.
The students had launched countrywide demonstrations earlier this month, demanding, among other things, the revocation of a controversial 30% promotion quota for craft instructors applying for the position of junior instructor.
They argued that the quota system severely limits job opportunities for diploma engineers graduating from technical institutions, as it unfairly favours non-academic promotions over merit-based recruitment.
During the press briefing at 8 PM, student representative Mashfiq Islam confirmed the temporary suspension of protests. He said, “The committee has been formed to draft a roadmap for implementing our six demands. They have requested three weeks’ time. Trusting the ministry and the committee, we have decided to suspend the movement.”
Mashfiq further warned that the students would resume their agitation if no visible progress is made within the promised timeframe. “We are pausing our protests out of goodwill, but if we don’t see concrete steps, we’ll be back on the streets,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the interim government announced the formation of the committee, which includes officials from the Ministry of Education and the Directorate of Technical Education, along with technical experts and academic representatives. The committee has been given three weeks to submit a comprehensive plan to resolve the issues raised by the students.
The six-point demand also includes: restructuring of the technical education curriculum, increasing budget allocation for polytechnic institutions, ensuring industry-standard practical training, removing discriminatory rules in recruitment and promotions, and recognising diploma engineers’ qualifications in the national technical framework.
The recent wave of protests saw thousands of students from polytechnic institutes blocking roads and holding sit-ins in major cities including Dhaka, Chattogram, and Rajshahi. The demonstrations disrupted traffic and drew nationwide attention to the long-standing issues within the technical education system.
Education analysts have noted that this is not the first time technical students have raised concerns about job market barriers and a lack of institutional support. The government’s formation of the committee is seen as a positive first step, but students and observers remain cautious about the implementation of promised reforms.
The next three weeks will be crucial in determining whether the temporary truce between the students and the government will hold, or if the protests will return with renewed vigour.