We support the private university students in their protest against the 7.5% VAT levied on private universities. As we have editorialised before, education is a fundamental right, and the government should not be taxing institutions of higher education.
However, the manner in which these protests have been carried out is highly regrettable. The act of blocking off roads has been wreaking havoc all over the capital, causing severe traffic jams and untold suffering to commuters.
This is no way to protest. Students may have legitimate grievances against policies of the government, but clogging up our roads to effectively shut down the operations of the city is not acceptable. We need a more mature form of protest which does not result in such inconvenience to the common people.
That said, the police had no business using excessive force on demonstrating students, as happened on Wednesday.
Holding the city hostage to one’s own agenda is not acceptable. Then again, the students alone are not to blame.
Destructive protests in the streets have become a part of the culture of protest in Bangladesh. In times of political turmoil, our major political parties behave in the same way, blocking off roads and making life harder for people.
Furthermore, the government never pays heed to protests when they are made in a peaceful and civilised manner. Students are forced to take to the streets because that is the only language the government seems to understand.
It is time to get out of the culture of shutting down the whole city to express dissatisfaction. Both the students and the government are to blame for yesterday’s fiasco, and the time to change our ways is long overdue.
