Students stage sit-in outside Shikkha Bhaban to press for Dhaka Central University ordinance

Students have occupied the road in front of the Shikkha Bhaban in Dhaka to press for the issuance of the ordinance needed to establish proposed Dhaka Central University through the merger of seven government colleges.  

They began their sit-in on Abdul Gani Road shortly after 1pm on Sunday.

Earlier, the demonstrators had gathered at the Nilkhet intersection before marching to the Shikkha Bhaban, which houses the office of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education.

Security has been tightened across the Secretariat and Shikkha Bhaban areas surrounding the programme.

Police have erected barricades blocking the road from the High Court intersection to the Secretariat.

Md Nayeem Hawlader, a representative of the movement and a Dhaka College student, told bdnews24.com: “We have started the sit-in with a one-point demand for the issuance of the ordinance. We will continue the programme until the ordinance is issued -- until the word ‘proposed’ is removed from the name Dhaka Central University.”

“The programme will continue as long as necessary. It will become stricter if needed. The seven colleges must be freed from the hands of the education syndicate and converted into Dhaka Central University,” he said.

The students had previously announced Sunday’s sit-in, reiterating their demand for the ordinance after a similar call on Wednesday.

Plans are under way to form the 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.