Thursday, 28 August, 2025
The interim government has formed an eight-member high-powered committee to review the competing demands of BSc graduates and diploma engineers after Wednesday’s clash between police and students at Shahbagh in the capital. But students swiftly rejected the initiative, unveiling a fresh five-point demand.
What began as a dispute over professional recognition has now spilled into the political arena, prompting concerns that the unrest could be weaponised to destabilise an already fragile pre-election climate. The timing has inevitably sparked suspicions. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam alleged that “certain forces” are deliberately fanning unrest to block pro-democracy momentum.
While such claims remain unverified, the fact that road blockades, protests, and police clashes are unfolding in the run-up to national polls deepens the sense of instability.
For a second consecutive day, students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) on Wednesday staged demonstrations in Shahbagh, blocking roads to press a three-point charter. The clashes broke out afternoon outside InterContinental Dhaka when students marching towards the chief advisor’s residence, State Guest House Jamuna, were blocked by police.
At least 15 people, including eight policemen, have been injured in a clash with engineering students from BUET and other universities demonstrating over three demands. Students, however, claim that more than 50 of their peers were hurt in police attacks.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has since banned public gatherings, rallies, and processions near the Bangladesh Secretariat, Jamuna, and surrounding areas. DMP Ramna Zone DC Masud Alam told reporters the restrictions were aimed at “preventing further escalation.”
In response to the police attack, the protesters decided to continue their sit-in at Shahbagh in the afternoon, demanding an apology from the home advisor.
Campus Protests Escalate
Protests have spread beyond Dhaka: students at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) and Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) paralysed traffic in their cities in solidarity, also condemning alleged police assaults on demonstrators in the capital.
In Chattogram, CUET students blocked the Gate No. 2 intersection around 4:30 pm, chanting slogans and disrupting traffic. Students from CUET’s Raozan campus joined later in the day. At least eight police officers were injured in Wednesday’s clash at Shahbagh, while students reported baton charges, tear gas and hospitalisation during chase-and-counter-chase scenes.
The ferocity of the protests—fuelled by students’ historic role in national politics—has transformed a technical dispute into a potential challenge to political stability. Police fired tear gas, sound grenades, and water cannon as students attempted to march toward the chief adviser’s residence, underscoring how quickly the situation can spiral.
Roots of the Rift
At the heart of the conflict lies a longstanding divide between holders of four-year BSc engineering degrees and graduates of three-year diploma programmes. Both groups seek recognition, recruitment rights, and promotions.
BUET students demand that ninth-grade posts such as assistant engineer be reserved exclusively for BSc graduates. They insist on mandatory recruitment tests for all candidates and oppose promotions via quotas or alternative job titles. Their frustration stems from the perception that the value of a full degree is being diluted by policies enabling diploma holders to compete for equivalent roles.
Diploma engineers, however, see these demands as discriminatory. They argue that for decades they have contributed significantly to infrastructure, energy, and development projects, and have long fought for upward mobility and equal recognition.
An Unresolved Legacy
The dispute is not new. It dates back to the previous Awami League government under Sheikh Hasina, which engaged both sides but avoided a definitive resolution. Ambiguity in policy allowed graduates and diploma holders to compete for the same positions while keeping the issue dormant.
Now, with a transitional government in place and elections due in February, these grievances have resurfaced with greater intensity. Critics say the former government’s reluctance to take a clear stance was deliberate—an attempt to appease both constituencies without alienating either.
The interim administration’s response has been to set up a review committee chaired by Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, tasked with submitting recommendations within a month. But this has failed to calm the movement. Student leaders are demanding a public apology from the Home Affairs Adviser for police action, government coverage of medical expenses for the injured, and guarantees of protester safety. Their refusal to engage with bureaucratic committees reflects deep distrust in institutional processes and a desire for direct dialogue with senior advisers.
From Policy Dispute to Political Flashpoint
The core contradiction—whether engineering careers should be defined solely by academic degrees or whether technical diplomas merit equal footing—has festered for years. In the current political climate, it has evolved into something larger: a test of the interim government’s authority and credibility.
Political analysts warn that if diploma engineers mobilise with counter-demands, the standoff could escalate into nationwide disruption, affecting infrastructure projects and public services. In a country where student movements have historically catalysed political change, such confrontations carry serious implications.
The government is now walking a tightrope: siding with one camp risks inflaming the other; trying to placate both risks satisfying neither. With elections looming, any perception of bias or repression could feed opposition narratives of manipulation and conspiracy.
The central question is no longer merely technical. It is whether this dispute will be defused—or whether it will spiral into a broader crisis of legitimacy. Student leaders, by escalating their demands and rejecting compromise, are signalling that they see this as more than a professional struggle. For the authorities, the challenge is to contain the unrest before it undermines public confidence in the democratic transition.
The unresolved grievances may have originated under the previous government, but their re-emergence now—at a critical political juncture—has blurred the line between professional rights and political manoeuvring.
Whether by design or circumstance, the unrest over engineers’ status has become entangled with the nation’s electoral future, raising the uncomfortable question: is this simply a professional conflict—or is a larger pre-poll conspiracy unfolding?
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The interim government has formed an eight-member high-powered committee to review the competing demands of BSc graduates and diploma engineers after Wednesday’s clash between police and students at Shahbagh in the capital. But students swiftly rejected the initiative, unveiling a fresh five-point demand.
What began as a dispute over professional recognition has now spilled into the political arena, prompting concerns that the unrest could be weaponised to destabilise an already fragile pre-election climate. The timing has inevitably sparked suspicions. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam alleged that “certain forces” are deliberately fanning unrest to block pro-democracy momentum.
While such claims remain unverified, the fact that road blockades, protests, and police clashes are unfolding in the run-up to national polls deepens the sense of instability.
For a second consecutive day, students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) on Wednesday staged demonstrations in Shahbagh, blocking roads to press a three-point charter. The clashes broke out afternoon outside InterContinental Dhaka when students marching towards the chief advisor’s residence, State Guest House Jamuna, were blocked by police.
At least 15 people, including eight policemen, have been injured in a clash with engineering students from BUET and other universities demonstrating over three demands. Students, however, claim that more than 50 of their peers were hurt in police attacks.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has since banned public gatherings, rallies, and processions near the Bangladesh Secretariat, Jamuna, and surrounding areas. DMP Ramna Zone DC Masud Alam told reporters the restrictions were aimed at “preventing further escalation.”
In response to the police attack, the protesters decided to continue their sit-in at Shahbagh in the afternoon, demanding an apology from the home advisor.
Campus Protests Escalate
Protests have spread beyond Dhaka: students at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) and Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) paralysed traffic in their cities in solidarity, also condemning alleged police assaults on demonstrators in the capital.
In Chattogram, CUET students blocked the Gate No. 2 intersection around 4:30 pm, chanting slogans and disrupting traffic. Students from CUET’s Raozan campus joined later in the day. At least eight police officers were injured in Wednesday’s clash at Shahbagh, while students reported baton charges, tear gas and hospitalisation during chase-and-counter-chase scenes.
The ferocity of the protests—fuelled by students’ historic role in national politics—has transformed a technical dispute into a potential challenge to political stability. Police fired tear gas, sound grenades, and water cannon as students attempted to march toward the chief adviser’s residence, underscoring how quickly the situation can spiral.
Roots of the Rift
At the heart of the conflict lies a longstanding divide between holders of four-year BSc engineering degrees and graduates of three-year diploma programmes. Both groups seek recognition, recruitment rights, and promotions.
BUET students demand that ninth-grade posts such as assistant engineer be reserved exclusively for BSc graduates. They insist on mandatory recruitment tests for all candidates and oppose promotions via quotas or alternative job titles. Their frustration stems from the perception that the value of a full degree is being diluted by policies enabling diploma holders to compete for equivalent roles.
Diploma engineers, however, see these demands as discriminatory. They argue that for decades they have contributed significantly to infrastructure, energy, and development projects, and have long fought for upward mobility and equal recognition.
An Unresolved Legacy
The dispute is not new. It dates back to the previous Awami League government under Sheikh Hasina, which engaged both sides but avoided a definitive resolution. Ambiguity in policy allowed graduates and diploma holders to compete for the same positions while keeping the issue dormant.
Now, with a transitional government in place and elections due in February, these grievances have resurfaced with greater intensity. Critics say the former government’s reluctance to take a clear stance was deliberate—an attempt to appease both constituencies without alienating either.
The interim administration’s response has been to set up a review committee chaired by Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, tasked with submitting recommendations within a month. But this has failed to calm the movement. Student leaders are demanding a public apology from the Home Affairs Adviser for police action, government coverage of medical expenses for the injured, and guarantees of protester safety. Their refusal to engage with bureaucratic committees reflects deep distrust in institutional processes and a desire for direct dialogue with senior advisers.
From Policy Dispute to Political Flashpoint
The core contradiction—whether engineering careers should be defined solely by academic degrees or whether technical diplomas merit equal footing—has festered for years. In the current political climate, it has evolved into something larger: a test of the interim government’s authority and credibility.
Political analysts warn that if diploma engineers mobilise with counter-demands, the standoff could escalate into nationwide disruption, affecting infrastructure projects and public services. In a country where student movements have historically catalysed political change, such confrontations carry serious implications.
The government is now walking a tightrope: siding with one camp risks inflaming the other; trying to placate both risks satisfying neither. With elections looming, any perception of bias or repression could feed opposition narratives of manipulation and conspiracy.
The central question is no longer merely technical. It is whether this dispute will be defused—or whether it will spiral into a broader crisis of legitimacy. Student leaders, by escalating their demands and rejecting compromise, are signalling that they see this as more than a professional struggle. For the authorities, the challenge is to contain the unrest before it undermines public confidence in the democratic transition.
The unresolved grievances may have originated under the previous government, but their re-emergence now—at a critical political juncture—has blurred the line between professional rights and political manoeuvring.
Whether by design or circumstance, the unrest over engineers’ status has become entangled with the nation’s electoral future, raising the uncomfortable question: is this simply a professional conflict—or is a larger pre-poll conspiracy unfolding?
Comments
