Polytechnic students’ nationwide grand rally today

The ‘Technical Students’ Movement, Bangladesh’ will hold a grand rally at polytechnic institutes across the country today to press home their six-point demands.

The rally will begin in front of all technical institutes across on Sunday (April 20).

Students announced the programme from a human chain held in front of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute in the capital’s Tejgaon area on Saturday morning.

The protesting students said, “We will continue the movement until our demands are met. We want justice for those who came under the attack in Cumilla. We are yet to receive any effective response from the government despite the fact that the demands are reasonable.”

Earlier, they observed the pre-announced ‘Rise in Red’ programme.

On Friday (April 18), students brought out a Kafan procession after Jumma prayer at the mosque of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute.

Their demands include cancellation of the controversial appointment of craft instructors in 2021; abolishment of open-age admission in the Diploma in Engineering course; legal requirement to reserve positions in the 10th grade (equivalent to sub-assistant engineer) for diploma engineers; and prohibition of appointments of those without technical educational backgrounds.