NCP Convenor Nahid Islam has called for a stronger role from universities, the state and student organisations to address the crisis in higher education and rising uncertainty over graduate employment.
Universities across the country continue to face shortages of basic facilities and a lack of minimum standards of human dignity, alongside severe accommodation, transport and classroom crises, he said.
He made the remarks at a freshers’ reception organised by Jatiya Chhatra Shakti at the auditorium of Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU) on Saturday afternoon.
The programme was chaired by the organisation’s Convenor Shahidul Islam.
Nahid said universities were merely producing unemployed graduates, leaving students increasingly uncertain about their future careers. While first-year students might not feel this anxiety, those in their third and fourth years face growing concerns over employment, he added.
He said university administrations under the previous regime had acted as accomplices of fascism and autocracy, maintaining partisan politics on campuses and allowing anti-student practices such as ragging, guestroom culture and gonorooms.
Noting that the current independent and conducive academic environment had been achieved through the struggles of previous generations of students, he said student organisations had a responsibility to protect democratic spaces on campuses and prevent partisan politics and undemocratic practices.
Student organisations must move beyond the politics of simply welcoming freshers with roses and instead actively press for solutions to accommodation and transport shortages while safeguarding students’ rights, he said.
Recalling the pioneering role of NSTU students in the July mass uprising, Nahid said the people and students of Bangladesh had repeatedly resisted autocracy throughout history. The 1971 Liberation War, the 1990 mass uprising and the 2024 July Revolution were evidence of this tradition, he added.
He said independence had been achieved through the blood of 26 martyrs and hundreds of injured fighters from Noakhali. He urged students to work towards building a new Bangladesh and called for justice for all martyrs, including martyr Osman Hadi.
Explaining the broader significance of a university, Nahid said its purpose was not confined to national boundaries but was inherently connected to the global arena.
He urged students to look beyond local and departmental demands, develop themselves as global citizens and prepare for the challenges of the international job market.
Declaring that the era of old-style politics had ended, he called on the younger generation to take on leadership and policymaking roles. He said a movement for such change was spreading across Bangladesh, South Asia and Europe.
Concluding his speech, Nahid called on students to remain prepared for future struggles, saying those who had supported fascism would have no place in the country. He said students and the public were ready to challenge the culture of impunity and expressed hope that the call of inquilab would resonate across the world.
NCP Senior Joint Member Secretary Md Sarjis Alam, NCP Joint Convenor Saleh Uddin Sifat and Jatiya Chhatra Shakti President Abu Baker Majumder attended the programme as special guests.
