Students of Medical Assistant Training School (MATS) faced police resistance on Sunday while marching towards the Secretariat to press home their four-point demands.
Clashes and chases ensued between the protesting students and the police in the Secretariat-adjacent area at around 5:30pm.
Earlier, at around 4:30pm, the students began their march from the Shahbagh intersection.
Amid a scuffle with the police, the students broke through barricades and continued their march.
The protesting MATS students said that despite suspending academic and administrative activities for three months to protest, their demands have not been met.
Frustrated with the lack of response from the authorities, they decided to march towards the Secretariat, they explained.
According to the students, the Ministry of Health has repeatedly "deceived" them with empty promises.
They demand an end to MATS-related discrimination, they said, adding that they do not want to take to the streets again.
The protesters said they will return home only if a solution is reached.
When asked why they were marching towards the Secretariat despite a meeting at the Ministry of Health, a student said: “It is meaningless to hold a meeting at the ministry while keeping us waiting in Shahbagh. The meeting must include us. If the health adviser publicly announces that our demands will be met, we will go home.”
Earlier, a five-member delegation of the MATS students met with Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum at the Ministry of Health at 3:30pm.
The four demands of the MATS students are:
- Immediate recruitment in vacant 10th-grade positions, employment opportunities, and the creation of new positions in both government and private sectors.
- Revision of the course curriculum and renaming institutions as "medical institutes."
- Cancellation of the proposed "Allied Health Professional Board" and establishment of an independent "Medical Education Board of Bangladesh."
- Opportunities for higher education in clinical subjects recognized by international standards and BM&DC.
