Home
+
Published : 08 Dec 2025, 03:41 PM
Students of seven colleges demanding the issuance of the proposed Dhaka Central University ordinance have once again occupied Abdul Gani Road in front of the Shikkha Bhaban, disrupting traffic.
Traffic movement from the High Court intersection towards the Secretariat was brought to a halt after the students took up positions on the road around 1:45pm on Monday.
The demonstrators, who have been holding a sit-in in front of the Shikkha Bhaban since Sunday, sat down on the road and chanted slogans pressing for immediate issuance of the ordinance.
Police have placed barricades from the High Court intersection towards the Secretariat, blocking the lane entirely and stopping traffic on that stretch.
“We will continue until the ordinance is issued. We want the government to act without delay,” said Abu Bakar, a Dhaka College student enrolled in the 2024–25 batch of Dhaka Central University, while speaking to bdnews24.com around the time the blockade began.
“A year has passed since other universities began classes. We’re already facing session jams. We need the ordinance now.”
The group first moved onto the street on Sunday afternoon.
They left the road later that night but resumed their demonstration on Monday afternoon, extending their call for action from the interim government.
Plans are under way to form Dhaka Central University by bringing together Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Kabi Nazrul Government College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Women’s College, Mirpur Government Bangla College and Government Titumir College.
However, teachers and sections of the student bodies remain divided over how the new institution should be structured.
The education ministry released the draft ordinance on Sept 24. It proposes dividing the seven colleges into four schools under an interdisciplinary or “schooling” framework. The colleges would continue offering higher secondary education under the proposal.
Members of the BCS General Education Cadre, who serve as teachers in government colleges across the country, say they fear their rights, particularly relating to promotion, may be affected under the new structure.
They have called for the university to be formed under an affiliation-based model, which they argue would preserve the identity of the existing colleges.
