Chittagong Polytechnic Institute students staged a protest by blocking roads and railway tracks at the Number Two Gate intersection in the city for two and a half hours, demanding the cancellation of a 30% promotion quota for craft instructors in the junior instructor post, among five other demands.
On Thursday, at around 11:30am, the students began their road blockade, which continued until 2pm.
Hundreds of polytechnic students gathered at the intersection from the morning, holding various placards. Initially, they blocked the road and later sat on the street while chanting slogans.
During the protest, the 11:40am Parjatak Express train from Chittagong Railway Station was stopped at Sholoshahar, causing inconvenience to passengers.
The protesting students claimed that craft instructors do not have a technical background and are merely assistant staff in the laboratories of diploma engineers. They said that most of them had completed education only up to class eight or SSC and were not qualified to be diploma instructors. If they were allowed to teach at diploma institutions, it would compromise the quality of education for diploma students.
They added that the junior instructor post should be exclusively reserved for diploma in engineering graduates. The students announced plans to submit a formal petition to the deputy commissioner and the Technical Education Board through their principal.
The protesters presented six demands:
- The mandatory academic qualification for the junior instructor post must be a diploma degree.
- All positions, including craft instructors, must be filled with personnel educated in technical fields.
- Engineering universities must be established in all divisional cities for polytechnic students as soon as possible.
- Diploma engineers should be eligible to apply for primary school teaching positions to enhance technical education.
- A minimum salary scale must be set for diploma engineers in the private sector.
- The 30% quota for craft instructors in the junior instructor post must be immediately abolished.
Due to the road blockade, severe traffic congestion occurred on the Muradpur-Bahaddarhat road and from Bahaddarhat towards GEC, causing suffering for office-goers and long-distance travellers.
Chittagong Railway Station Master Abu Jafar Mazumdar told Bangla Tribune: “The Parjatan Express train bound for Cox’s Bazar was halted from 12pm due to the blockade by Chittagong Polytechnic Institute students, causing extreme hardship for passengers."
He added: "After requests from senior officials, the blockade was lifted, allowing trains and vehicles to resume movement after 2:00 pm.”
