Agricultural diploma students block Khamarbari for 8-point demand

Agricultural diploma students are observing a pre-announced ‘Agri Blockade’ programme by blocking the main gate of Khamarbari in Dhaka to press home their eight-point demands, including access to higher education.

They started the demonstration under the banner of ‘Agricultural Diploma Students’ Rights Movement’ at 9 am on Monday (April 21).

Asaduzzaman Abir, a student participating in the sit-in, said, “There are about 25,000 students in four-year diploma courses in 18 public agricultural training institutes and 260 private agricultural colleges in the country. These students are facing discrimination in higher education and opportunities in the workplace.”

On Sunday, students of the agricultural diploma program held a rally and sit-in in front of the National Shaheed Minar in Dhaka with the same demand. Several hundred diploma students from across the country participated in it. Later, from the programme, the protesting students announced an ‘Agri Blockade’ programme on Monday.

Among the demands the protesting students placed include: Diploma agriculturists should be given the opportunity to pursue higher education in public agricultural universities, gazette notification should be issued to introduce Deputy Assistant Agricultural Officers as second-class employees and the continuity of recruitment should be maintained every year. The teacher shortage should be eliminated to improve the quality of agricultural diploma education.