The historic Education Day of Dhaka University was observed Friday with a call to introduce a scientific, single-stream, pro-people and uniform education system for all in the country.
Different student organisations made the call from separate rallies and discussion programmes marking the day.
The day was observed to commemorate the sacrifice of three students Mostafa, Babul and Wajiullah who were killed in police firing while staging a demonstration against the SM Sharif Education Commission formed in 1962.
Since then students and teachers have been observing September 17 as the Education Day demanding a scientific, single-stream, pro-people and secular education system in the country.
The day’s programmes started with placing of floral wreaths at the Shikkha Odhikar Chattar monument near the Supreme Court compound by different student organisations.
Bangladesh Chhatra League, Bangladesh Chhatra Odhikar Parisad, Bangladesh Chhatra Union, Socialist Students’ Front and among other organisations placed wreaths at the Shikkha Odhikar Chattar monument.
However, Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), refrained from the occasion.
Left leaning student organization, ‘Socialist Student Front’, ‘Bangladesh Student Union’ and ‘Eight Progressive Students Organizations’ separately staged rallies at the same time following the Education Day 2021.
Bangladesh Student Union staged their rally at the Shoparjito Shadhinota Sculpture while Dhaka University Mass Communication and Journalism Professor Kaberi Gayen and Economics Professor M.M. Akash and among others were present.
Kaberi Gayen said, ‘We have betrayed with the blood of the martyrs of the ‘62 education movement. After independence, all the governments promised about formulating a pro-people, non-communal education policy but they didn’t meet their commitment.’
‘Education has been subtly commercialized; I believe that the student union will play a role in formulating a public friendly education policy,’ she added.
M.M. Akash said, ‘The streets need to be blooded with the blood of student and labour simultaneously if we have to bring out a mass-friendly education policy like education movement of 1962.’
Besides, Socialist Student Front staged their discussion programme at the foot of anti terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture with the presence of Jahangirnagar University Economics department professor Anu Muhammad.
Professor Anu Muhammad said, ‘during Covid time, the crisis in country’s education sector becomes many times higher than any other time. But the role of the state was indifferent throughout this time. As a result, Bangladesh secured top position in terms of closing down educational institutions.’
‘The ruling group wants to stop the protest against it by showing various rules and regulations.But when the rules are anti-people,supportive for looters it becomes the duty of educated people to break those rules and thus,the ruling class does not want everyone to be educated. This is why the ruling class has turned public universities into flattering institutions to keep their suppression alive,’ he added.
However, Leaders and activists of Islami Shasantantra Chhatra Andolan also held a rally on the campus marking the day.
Progressive Students Alliance, a platform of left Eight Progressive students organization, in a rally in front of the Central Shaheed Minar for a single-stream, scientific, pro-people and secular education system and steps to stop commercialisation of education and observe the day at state level.
They also demanded cancellation of educational fees and mess rent, also government grants during the COVID-19 epidemic for students to buy devices to ensure participation in online classes and states grants for non-government teachers to tackle the epidemic.
Source: United News of Bangladesh