Titumir College students block road again

The blockade has not had a large impact on traffic as it is the weekend

Students from Dhaka’s Government Titumir College have blocked the road for a second consecutive day to demand their institution be turned into an independent university.

They started the protest programme on the road in front of the college’s main gate in Mohakhali around 2:30pm on Friday.

Nayek Noor Mohammad, one of the protest leaders, said: “We will remain at the Titumir gate today. We will clear the road soon.”

Students had blocked the road from Thursday afternoon to early on Friday morning, causing daylong traffic jams on the road in different areas, leading to suffering for thousands of people.

Education ministry Joint Secretary Md Nuruzzaman spoke to the demonstrators at 8:45pm on Thursday during their blockade programme.

He also urged some of the protesters to end the hunger strike they were conducting, assuring them that he would convey their demands to the higher officials in the government. However, the students refused.

“We don’t believe the assurances they have given. They gave us assurances many times in the past. We’ll continue our programme,” said Roman, a student in the Department of Sociology at the college.

After Friday prayers, the protesters led a procession to Amtoli in Mohakhali and blocked the road. However, as it was a holiday, there was no significant impact on the traffic on nearby roads.

The Traffic Gulshan Division of police said in a Facebook post at 3:30pm, “Like yesterday, students have begun blocking the road in front of Titumir College for some time. As a result, traffic is closed from the Mohakhali-Amtoli area to Gulshan-1 and from Gulshan-1 to Amtoli.”

Urging travellers to use alternate routes, the traffic police said: “Drivers and passengers going from Banani-Kakoli to Jahangir Gate are requested to use the flyover. In addition, those who will go to Gulshan-1 by turning right at Amtoli from Mohakhali are requested to proceed straight towards Kakoli-Banani via Amtoli and use the Kakoli crossing or to go further ahead, take a U-turn and use the Banani-Gulshan 2 road.

"Those going from Banani-Kakoli to Amtoli can go straight towards Mohakhali Terminal."

“Titumir Oikya”, a platform for the student protesters, have a seven-point list of demands. These include publishing an academic calendar with state recognition, the formation of a “university administration” to conduct admissions for the 2024-25 sessions, and immediately covering the housing costs of all students or ensuring housing arrangements for all of them.

The students on hunger strike are also demanding the addition of International Minimum Standard Law and Journalism subjects from the 2024-25 academic years, appointment of qualified teachers with PhDs to conduct academic activities, limiting the number of seats to improve the quality of education, and ensuring land and financial allocations for building a research laboratory of international standards.

On Monday night, student protesters gave the authorities 48 hours to turn Government Titumir College into a university and form an administrative structure following the transition.

They threatened to otherwise block roads and railways in Mohakhali again from Thursday.

They also announced plans to enforce a “Shut Down Titumir” programme by halting the college’s classes and exams from Tuesday morning until the state’s recognition of the university.

After months of protests and sit-ins demanding an independent university, the students hoisted a banner reading "Titumir University" at the main gate of the educational institution on Jan 7.

Earlier, the education ministry formed a five-strong committee to examine the feasibility of transforming the college into a university on Dec 3 last year.

However, the students allege that the committee was not functioning “properly”.