The Movement for World Education Rights (MWER) on Sunday demanded a monitoring cell which is necessary to observe and ensure the proper implementation of an election manifesto after winning an election.
They congratulated both the grand alliance and Jatiya Oikya Front for making admirable commitments in their manifestoes, but also criticized some pledges.
The education rights forum expressed their observations in a press conference held at Madhur Canteen on Dhaka University campus titled “Youth election manifesto observation.”
The forum criticized Oikya Front's pledge to abolish the age limit for government jobs and the provision of unemployment benefits, saying that government should set a logical age limit to ensure proper employment instead of offering benefits.
“All educational institutions of Bangladesh need to be brought under direct supervision of government in order to ensure a proper, quality education, but none of the parties included this in their manifestoes,” said Faruque Ahmed Arif, convener of the platform.
The forum also appreciated the commitment of both parties to encouraging investigative journalism, but opposed the Oikya Front's commitment to scrapping the Digital Security Act. Instead, they urged amending the sections and articles that hamper the freedom of expression, while providing proper security online.
Faruque Ahmed Arif, convener of the organization, Joint Convener Anayetullah Koushik, Executive Members Ariful Islam, Maruf Ahmed, Sabbir Ahmed, Asadullah Lion, Jim Mondol, and others, were present at the conference.
The Movement for World Education Rights (MWER) is an academic and research based platform established in 2017 with a view to ensuring educational rights in the world, including Bangladesh.