Dhaka, Ctg polytechnic students demonstrate against promotion quota, block roads

Polytechnic Institute students in Dhaka and Chattogram staged protests today (20 March), demanding the immediate cancellation of the 30% promotion quota for craft instructors to the junior instructor position. 

The demonstrations led to severe traffic congestion, causing major disruptions for commuters in both cities.

The protests were part of a nationwide movement that began on Wednesday, with students boycotting classes and midterm exams to press their demands.

In Dhaka, students of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute blocked the Satrasta intersection in Tejgaon for several hours. 

The blockade was lifted around 2pm, according to a Facebook post by Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Gulshan Traffic Division.

A previous update at 12:46pm had alerted citizens about the protest, stating, "At this moment, around 300 to 400 students from Dhaka Polytechnic Institute are staging a protest at Tejgaon's Satrasta, blocking traffic from Mohakhali."

"As a result, traffic movement towards Saatrasta from Mohakhali is being disrupted," the post said.

The students raised three key demands – immediate cancellation of the 30% promotion quota for craft instructors to junior instructor positions, making "Diploma in Engineering" a mandatory qualification for junior instructor (technical - grade 10) positions, and ensuring that only technically educated personnel are appointed to all positions, including craft instructor roles, in technical institutions.

Junior Instructor is a government position primarily occupied by diploma engineers who teach at technical education institutions and training centres.

A recent High Court ruling allowed Craft Instructors to be promoted by 30% to Junior Instructor positions, placing them in the 10th grade.

However, protesting students argue that individuals with only an 8th-grade, SSC (vocational), or HSC qualification are also included in this promotion, which they believe undermines the standard of teaching for diploma engineering students.

Protesting students told reporters that this decision would lower the standard of teaching in diploma engineering programs. They claimed craft instructors primarily work as lab assistants and lack the necessary technical background to teach diploma students.

In Chattogram, students of the Polytechnic Institute blocked both roads and railway tracks at the No 2 Gate intersection starting at 11:30am. This led to severe traffic congestion on Bayazid Bostami Road, Muradpur-Bahaddarhat Road, and Bahaddarhat-Muradpur to GEC Road.

The students lifted their rail blockade after 2:30pm but continued protesting on the roads until 4pm, leaving commuters, including those observing Ramadan, stranded.

Traffic police struggled to manage the situation even after the blockade was lifted, as congestion spilled over into key surrounding roads.

In addition to their three main demands, Chattogram polytechnic students also called for establishing engineering universities in all divisional cities for polytechnic students, allowing diploma engineers to be recruited as primary school teachers and setting a minimum salary scale for diploma engineers in the private sector.