Students continue hunger strike for second day

The ongoing hunger strike until death, initiated by the four specialised engineering college students, entered into second day on Monday, with a vow to continue the programme unless realising their nine-point charter of demands.

They started the programme in front of the National Press Club in the capital on Sunday. They said the four specialised engineering colleges (Mymensingh, Sylhet, Faridpur, and Barishal) have long been facing academic and administrative problems.

Before their ongoing strike until death, the students also observed programmes on their respective college campuses, and a sit-in programme at the Central Shaheed Minar on July 27. They alleged that police charged batons on them during their programme on July 28, and left 500 students injured.

The engineering college students said they placed their demands before the authority concerned.

They called upon the authority to form an independent, separate, sustainable and time-befitting commission by following the Bangladesh Institute of Technology (BIT) model to ensure academic and administrative independency of the four colleges.

The students also identified some problems, including failure of appointing permanent principals over the last 18 years, teacher shortage due to cumbersome recruitment process, failure to develop infrastructure and technology, irregularity in the system of exams and evaluation, failure to implement outcome based education (OBE) system, lack of recognition from the Institute of Engineers (IEB), and failure to create opportunity for research-based work and skilled manpower.