Campus violence tarring the image of ruling party
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Enayet Rasul Bhuiyan
The recurrent incidents of violence, one after another, in the country's premier institutions of higher education and their shutting down one after another in quick succession, is casting a pall of gloom among the actual student population, the guardians and all others concerned with maintaining and improving education opportunities. The realization has been there among Bangladeshis having some education and sensibilities, specially among policy makers, that the best way for successfully meeting the basic challenges of existence for them such as economic growth to create employment, reduction of poverty and improving standards of living, essentially involve education of the greatest number in truly need-based education to create human resources. Like everywhere in the world, policy makers have embraced the idea that the most important requirement for advancement by the individual and the country in all spheres in today's world is education, specially education of the right type that makes human resources.
The builder of this vital human resource in the Bangladesh context are its universities, colleges and specialised centres of education. But one by one, these are seen to be closing down indefinitely from repeated violence under the garb of student political activism when the same are but rabid expressions of some sections of students -- aided by outsiders -- to come to controlling position in student front of the ruling party for the many spoils the same promise. These include holding sway over government's tender bids, taking underhand payoffs for admissions in the academic institutions, similar payments to be made for getting seats in student dormitories, etc. Thus, money making and nothing else has become the singular objective of student politics. Specially, the student front of the ruling quarters draw youngsters to them not for promoting any ideology and worthwhile purpose these days but for opportunities to make a good deal of money overnight through activities which are but crimes. The so-called student activists do these things from a kind of real or perceived sense of having some unwritten assurance that they would be protected by the government and the ruling party because of their claimed allegiance to them.
But the costs to the nation from the unending campus violence is already proving to be very high. Thirty institutions of higher learning have been already closed down for an indefinite period. The closed sown institutions include the Dhaka Medical College (DMC) which is the oldest and most reputed centre for medical science learning. The country's 31 public universities and 199 colleges, are passing a period of tension as violence could engulf any of them--any time-- like in the already closed down institutions.
Every time an institution such as the DMC or the Dhaka University closes down , the same adds to the phenomenon of 'session jams' or prolongation of the normal course by at least one or several more years. Additional resources have to be wasted by the students and their guardians. After enduring the session jams and finally getting certificates, a student may find himself or herself age-barred for various public examinations they need to take for employment in the public sector. The students from upper class families leave in large number for overseas education draining the country's resources and helping the brain drain or loss of human resources by the country.
Thus, the issue of student politics is no more an emotional or sentimental issue. It has very serious implications for the country's economy and its economic and developmental future. Of course, no one should misunderstand when senior political leaders including the incumbent Prime Minister, make statements drawing attention to the glorious past of student politics. Indeed, the 1952 language movement and many other conscious stirring for the good of the country and its people were initiated and led by student activists. But our leaders need also to be realistic and accept the hard facts of life that today's student politics is very different from the ideological bent of students of a bygone era and reflect nothing but a lust for money and power. Thus, clinging on to outdated and romantic notions of student politics and helping its continuation without enforcing limitations, can be very detrimental for the country in all respects.
Government will have to be decisive and a trail blazer in this matter. There is no need for going to extremes in the name of solution such as banning student politics forever. Students must, as part of the most conscious and better motivated sections of people, have the rights to express themselves within and outside the campuses to resist tyranny and evil such as during the 1952 language movement. But allowing them freedom to engage in such kinds of politics only should not conflict with clearly specifying areas where it would be made unlawful for them to intrude such as in tender bids, admissions into academic institutions, seat allocation in dormitories, etc. Students may be obliged through laws and their strict enforcement that they cannot meddle into these areas and others for pecuniary gains.
For the moment, the imperative is suspending student politics in the campuses for a period of, say six months. In fact, the present education minister suggested this course in a recent function at Sylhet. One had hoped that the minister's suggestion would be quickly followed up by a suspension order. This has not happened, but it is an imperative for the government. Nobody is suggesting banning of student politics but only keeping it suspended for a while to work out a guideline that would make it very difficult to engage in such politics shorn of any sound impulses but driven by only expectation of material gains. If a suspension period is enforced, then in this period the top leadership of the Awami League would be in a position to sort out which of the contending groups claiming allegiance to the party they can safely recognize as their own and would be deserving such recognition. Even the units to be recognized, thus, should be put through a filtering period to exclude all kids of undesirable elements in them. At the same time, the guidelines to which the student parties must conform should be declared and introduced. Other political parties will need to be encouraged to do just like the Awami League and to mandatorily accept the guidelines to be introduced in regulating the student parties.
The above mode of addressing student politics, as this writer considers, would be very sensible. The Prime Minister has recently acted to show that she is distancing herself from her student wing, the Bangladesh Chatra League by giving up any leadership role in it. This is only a laudable first step. She is expected to urge other important leaders in her party to follow her example at the soonest. Above everything, the Prime Minister is expected to be bold and decisive in immediately ordering the suspension of student politics in the above described manner.
The recurrent incidents of violence, one after another, in the country's premier institutions of higher education and their shutting down one after another in quick succession, is casting a pall of gloom among the actual student population, the guardians and all others concerned with maintaining and improving education opportunities. The realization has been there among Bangladeshis having some education and sensibilities, specially among policy makers, that the best way for successfully meeting the basic challenges of existence for them such as economic growth to create employment, reduction of poverty and improving standards of living, essentially involve education of the greatest number in truly need-based education to create human resources. Like everywhere in the world, policy makers have embraced the idea that the most important requirement for advancement by the individual and the country in all spheres in today's world is education, specially education of the right type that makes human resources.
The builder of this vital human resource in the Bangladesh context are its universities, colleges and specialised centres of education. But one by one, these are seen to be closing down indefinitely from repeated violence under the garb of student political activism when the same are but rabid expressions of some sections of students -- aided by outsiders -- to come to controlling position in student front of the ruling party for the many spoils the same promise. These include holding sway over government's tender bids, taking underhand payoffs for admissions in the academic institutions, similar payments to be made for getting seats in student dormitories, etc. Thus, money making and nothing else has become the singular objective of student politics. Specially, the student front of the ruling quarters draw youngsters to them not for promoting any ideology and worthwhile purpose these days but for opportunities to make a good deal of money overnight through activities which are but crimes. The so-called student activists do these things from a kind of real or perceived sense of having some unwritten assurance that they would be protected by the government and the ruling party because of their claimed allegiance to them.
But the costs to the nation from the unending campus violence is already proving to be very high. Thirty institutions of higher learning have been already closed down for an indefinite period. The closed sown institutions include the Dhaka Medical College (DMC) which is the oldest and most reputed centre for medical science learning. The country's 31 public universities and 199 colleges, are passing a period of tension as violence could engulf any of them--any time-- like in the already closed down institutions.
Every time an institution such as the DMC or the Dhaka University closes down , the same adds to the phenomenon of 'session jams' or prolongation of the normal course by at least one or several more years. Additional resources have to be wasted by the students and their guardians. After enduring the session jams and finally getting certificates, a student may find himself or herself age-barred for various public examinations they need to take for employment in the public sector. The students from upper class families leave in large number for overseas education draining the country's resources and helping the brain drain or loss of human resources by the country.
Thus, the issue of student politics is no more an emotional or sentimental issue. It has very serious implications for the country's economy and its economic and developmental future. Of course, no one should misunderstand when senior political leaders including the incumbent Prime Minister, make statements drawing attention to the glorious past of student politics. Indeed, the 1952 language movement and many other conscious stirring for the good of the country and its people were initiated and led by student activists. But our leaders need also to be realistic and accept the hard facts of life that today's student politics is very different from the ideological bent of students of a bygone era and reflect nothing but a lust for money and power. Thus, clinging on to outdated and romantic notions of student politics and helping its continuation without enforcing limitations, can be very detrimental for the country in all respects.
Government will have to be decisive and a trail blazer in this matter. There is no need for going to extremes in the name of solution such as banning student politics forever. Students must, as part of the most conscious and better motivated sections of people, have the rights to express themselves within and outside the campuses to resist tyranny and evil such as during the 1952 language movement. But allowing them freedom to engage in such kinds of politics only should not conflict with clearly specifying areas where it would be made unlawful for them to intrude such as in tender bids, admissions into academic institutions, seat allocation in dormitories, etc. Students may be obliged through laws and their strict enforcement that they cannot meddle into these areas and others for pecuniary gains.
For the moment, the imperative is suspending student politics in the campuses for a period of, say six months. In fact, the present education minister suggested this course in a recent function at Sylhet. One had hoped that the minister's suggestion would be quickly followed up by a suspension order. This has not happened, but it is an imperative for the government. Nobody is suggesting banning of student politics but only keeping it suspended for a while to work out a guideline that would make it very difficult to engage in such politics shorn of any sound impulses but driven by only expectation of material gains. If a suspension period is enforced, then in this period the top leadership of the Awami League would be in a position to sort out which of the contending groups claiming allegiance to the party they can safely recognize as their own and would be deserving such recognition. Even the units to be recognized, thus, should be put through a filtering period to exclude all kids of undesirable elements in them. At the same time, the guidelines to which the student parties must conform should be declared and introduced. Other political parties will need to be encouraged to do just like the Awami League and to mandatorily accept the guidelines to be introduced in regulating the student parties.
The above mode of addressing student politics, as this writer considers, would be very sensible. The Prime Minister has recently acted to show that she is distancing herself from her student wing, the Bangladesh Chatra League by giving up any leadership role in it. This is only a laudable first step. She is expected to urge other important leaders in her party to follow her example at the soonest. Above everything, the Prime Minister is expected to be bold and decisive in immediately ordering the suspension of student politics in the above described manner.