Govt forms committee to prepare roadmap

The government on Thursday formed an eight-member committee to prepare an implementation roadmap to realise the six-point demand raised by the students of polytechnic institutes.

The committee comprises representatives from the Technical and Madrasah Education Division (TMED), the Directorate of Technical Education, the Institution of Engineers Bangladesh (IEB), the Institution of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh (IDEB), and student leaders under the banner of Karigori Chhatra Andolon (Technical Student Movement).

The committee will be headed by the division's additional secretary (development), according to an office order issued by TMED.

The members have been tasked with preparing a detailed outline for executing the students' demands and submitting a report to the TMED secretary within three weeks.

The directive was signed by Deputy Secretary Mohammad Mizanur Rahman Talukder.

Meanwhile, in a separate press release signed by Senior Information Officer Siraj-Ud-Doula Khan of the Ministry of Education said that the committee would focus on short, mid, and long-term strategies for implementing the student demands.

According to the press release, the student movement resulted in road and rail blockades in Dhaka and other districts, causing public inconvenience and unrest at various technical institutions.

Their six-point demand includes the cancellation of a High Court ruling regarding the promotion of craft instructors to junior instructors and revocation of the controversial craft instructor recruitment policy that was introduced in 2021.

On April 21, 2025 student leaders met with the TMED secretary. The meeting was attended by the director general of the Directorate of Technical Education, senior ministry officials, and IDEB representatives.

During the meeting, the TMED secretary urged the students to withdraw their protests and resolve the issues through dialogue.

talhabinhabib@yahoo.com