Following the recent events at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), the nation has come to an unconcluded debate about whether student politics should be continued in public universities. For the last few days, the protest against the establishment of politics in university campuses has reached its peak like never before. This has become the talk of the country, with lots of ambiguity and uncertainty.
Reflecting on Bangladesh's history, student politics has long been an integral aspect of the country's social fabric. From the period spanning 1948 to 1971, the youth of Bangladesh consistently voiced their rights through successive protests, refusing to relent until their demands were met. Most of the protests ended in success, redeeming the rights of the students through perseverance and sacrifice.
Nevertheless, the dimension of student politics has changed over the last few decades. Over the last 15 years, the unbroken dominance of the ruling party in Bangladesh has limited space for opposition engagement in on-campus student politics. This has resulted in a one-party rule over all the public university campuses, fostering an environment of extreme monopolization. However, the monopoly turned into autonomy as there was no one left to speak against.
Back in 2019, a student named Abrar Fahad was brutally beaten to death by some political activists of BUET. This event led to widespread outrage and prompted authorities to impose a ban on student politics within university premises.
Since then, no political activity has taken place in BUET. Recent events have reignited tensions as the student wing of the ruling party seeks to reintroduce student politics at BUET. Despite this, both the majority of students and university authorities have shown little inclination towards reinstating student politics.
Undeniably, student politics had a great impact on shaping our nation for years. But for the last few years, no significant contributions have been made for the welfare of the general students. The student politics culture has significantly changed to power politics, creating imbalanced situations all over the campus.
Notably, most of the dorms are occupied by political activists, causing immense trouble to the resident students. Retaining seats for years after graduation, consuming food for free from the dorm canteens, engaging in extortion, and hundreds of other severe offenses have become a regular scenario in most of the public universities with active student politics. In most cases, the authorities remain silent even after being aware of all the wrongdoings. This system appeared to be unbreakable until BUET students stepped into a protest following the death of Abrar Fahad.
As a former resident student of Dhaka University, I have witnessed firsthand the coercive nature of student politics, where newcomers are pressured into participating in political activities at the expense of academic commitments. Giving protocol to the political leaders caused missing important classes in many cases. The authorities never seemed to bother to take action against this power practice, resulting in no escape route for the general students.
Student politics is important to build the foundation of leadership among the students, but regular student-wing-based politics of Bangladesh has yielded more harm than good. The proposition of banning student politics risks closing the door to leadership development, yet the current model has significantly failed to make the scenario any better.
In order to ensure check and balance with constructive politics, forming a student union is imperative. If the student wings of the mainstream political parties want to take the lead, they must come up with a student-friendly manifesto in order to face a free and fair election. The university authority should also step forward and take this responsibility to make sure everyone gets to have their voices heard through student unions. If Dhaka University can proceed with the DUCSU election after a long hiatus of 28 years, any university authority can do this if they have genuine interest in doing so.
Due to the low acceptance rate, only a handful students get selected in the public universities of Bangladesh. Given that public universities receive significant government funding for the benefit of their students, it is of the utmost importance to address the issues that now threaten the quality of education.
Recent incidents in Buet have shown how the wider student population has rejected student political wings that have ties to mainstream political parties. It's time to reevaluate the situation so that universities can uphold each student's rights and foster a positive atmosphere for both education and politics.
ASM Kamrul Islam is a Lecturer, Green University of Bangladesh and a former student, University of Dhaka. Email: [email protected].
