Job-seeking students held protests and blocked Dhaka’s Shahbagh area on Saturday, demanding reforms to the Public Service Commission (PSC).
They also reminded the government of their earlier ultimatum to meet their demands by 6pm tomorrow, Sunday, warning of stricter measures otherwise.
The program began at 6:45pm at the base of the anti-terrorism Raju Sculpture at Dhaka University, followed by a blockade of Shahbagh at 7:50pm.
The protest was attended by job-seeking students along with former Ducsu Vice President Nurul Haque Nur (VP Nur), Student Rights Council President Bin Yeamin Mollah, and students from the University of Dhaka.
A procession marched from the Raju Sculpture through Dhaka University’s Central Library and residential halls to Shahbagh, where protesters blocked the intersection for about 30 minutes.
Former Ducsu VP Nurul Haque Nur said that the eight-point demand for PSC reform is necessary not just for the PSC but to bring complete transparency to various government recruitment processes.
“The same partisan attitudes that existed before are still evident. This partisan mentality can be seen from university administration to staff in various institutions,” Nur added.
He also demanded the disclosure of BCS cadre officers’ scores in preliminary, written, and viva exams, along with the dismissal of those who entered jobs through leaked questions in the past.
“The bureaucratic complications in the PSC cause a single BCS recruitment process to take three to four years. We request that this process be completed within one year,” he said.
Chhatra Odhikar Parishad President Bin Yamin Mollah stated from the Shahbagh blockade that if their demands are not met by 6pm on Sunday, within the 48-hour ultimatum they issued earlier, they will take stricter action.
"Today (Saturday) we want to send a message to the government that if we wish, we can block not just Shahbagh but the entire Bangladesh,” he said.
Dhaka University student AB Zubair said that while they blocked Shahbagh for a short time today, if their demands are not met, they will block not just Shahbagh but the entire Bangladesh.
Additionally, on Thursday, two students on hunger strike — Shah Alam Sneho from Dhaka University and Aurangzeb from Jagannath University — fell seriously ill.
Earlier, on Thursday, a group of government job seekers demanded proper measures to prevent question leaks, resolve candidate sufferings, allocate 100 marks for the viva exam from the 45th BCS onwards, allow re-choosing cadres, increase non-cadre posts, and ensure jobs for all who pass the viva.
They also demanded speeding up answer sheet evaluations, ensuring answer sheets are checked within the commission to maintain neutrality, and increasing the number of commission members from 25 to 30 through an ordinance.
