Students of Islamic University (IU) held a protest rally and human chain on Tuesday against the Education Ministry’s decision to transfer the authority to recruit teachers from the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) to the managing committees or governing bodies of private educational institutions.

The protest began around 11:30am when students brought out a procession from the university’s main gate. The procession passed through several key roads on the campus before returning to the main gate, where it turned into a human chain.

Activists and leaders of the Islamic University unit of Islami Chhatra Shibir, Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Islami Chhatra Andolan, Chhatra Union, Jamiat-e-Talaba Arabia and Jatiya Chhatra Shakti, along with students from various departments, took part in the programme.

During the procession, students chanted slogans including, “The student community has awakened,” “No connections, we want jobs,” “No merit-based exclusion, we want jobs,” “Education, not commercialisation,” and “The quota went the way it did, the committees will go the same way.”

The students said the existing system of teacher recruitment through central recommendations by NTRCA has created opportunities for appointments based on merit and qualifications. They warned that handing recruitment authority to managing committees or governing bodies could create opportunities for nepotism, irregularities, corruption and appointments in exchange for money.

They demanded that the existing system of centrally recruiting teachers through NTRCA be retained.

Md Rashedul Islam, secretary of the IU unit of Islami Chhatra Shibir, said, “We abolished this practice through a movement in 2018. Over the past few years, we have seen teachers having to bow to the wishes of local MPs. This practice must end and a corruption- and bribery-free recruitment system must be introduced.”

“We want the recruitment process to remain under NTRCA. We want the same strong and transparent recruitment system that has been followed. If necessary, legislation should be enacted to permanently place the recruitment process under NTRCA,” he added.

Jatiya Chhatra Shakti Convener Fuad Hasan said a resolution had been published transferring recruitment authority from NTRCA to managing committees. Later, a post was published through the administrator of the Education Minister’s Facebook page claiming that no final decision had been made.

“Which carries more weight—the resolution passed by the ministry or a post made through an administrator? This is an attempt to cover up the real issue. Essentially, this initiative has been taken to determine your party’s financial policy,” he said.

He further alleged, “By handing over education and recruitment opportunities to people involved in extortion and corruption in local areas, you are attempting to destroy the backbone of the education system through recruitment trading.”

He demanded that the authorities resolve the issue by issuing another written resolution withdrawing the decision and apologising to the student community.

SM Sweet, convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement at IU, said, “If the system that the current Education Ministry is trying to introduce at NTRCA is not cancelled, the students and people of Bangladesh will not accept it.”

“We are declaring from Islamic University that if you do not change the decision within the next 24 hours, we will launch a movement against you with the participation of the general students and people of Islamic University,” he added.