Consensus committee formed over demands of BSc, diploma engineers

The government has formed a six-member committee to build consensus between BSc degree holders and diploma engineers who have been staging protests to press their demands.

Both groups have agreed to suspend their movement until the committee submits its report.

The decision was made following a meeting at the Secretariat today (17 September), chaired by Road Transport and Bridges Adviser and head of the committee Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan.

The adviser said the diploma engineers have three main demands while BSc engineers have seven.

He said they sat with representatives from both groups and urged them to set aside their differences and build a bridge between them.

The meeting was attended by university vice-chancellors, principals of polytechnic institutes, and heads of other relevant institutions.

The adviser said some of the demands are directly contradictory.

"If one side's demand is accepted, the other becomes dissatisfied. That's why, instead of deciding on their own, they have formed a balanced committee with input from both sides," he added.

The six-member committee includes representatives from the Institute of Engineers, a teacher of diploma engineering, and members from both the diploma and BSc engineering communities.

The committee will not have any chairman.

The issue of professional titles also came up during the meeting, but no decision has been made yet.

"Three suggestions were discussed. One idea is that BSc engineers would use 'Engineer' before their names while diploma engineers would use 'Diploma Engineer'. Another proposal is that no prefixes would be used and qualifications would instead be mentioned after names. A third suggestion is that no titles would be used at all," said the adviser.

Fouzul also said the lack of employment opportunities for engineers is the root issue.

As a first step, he has instructed the Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration to immediately begin filling vacant government posts.

In future, foreign companies working in Bangladesh on projects like bridges or power plants should be required to hire local engineers — both degree and diploma holders — in specific proportions, he said.

Fouzul stressed the importance of reducing dependency on foreign labour and making use of capable local professionals.

The comittee has already held three meetings and will continue discussions with heads of engineering organisations before finalising its report.