Students of engineering universities, including Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, blocked Shahbagh to press home their three key demands over engineer recruitment reforms.
The Shahbagh police station officer-in-charge, Khalid Mansoor, said that the students staged a procession and blocked the Shahbagh intersection at about 3:45pm, bringing the traffic to a halt in the busy area.
鈥楳ore than a thousand students gather at the Shabagh intersection at about 3:45pm to press their three demands. Shahbagh intersection is fully blocked, and the traffic movement has been disrupted for about two hours now,鈥� he said.
Shahbagh intersection is still blocked by the protesters as of 5:30pm, the OC said, adding that the police have been deployed in the area.
They demanded that all candidates must pass a recruitment examination and hold at least a BSc degree to enter into the ninth grade in engineering, promotions through quotas are not allowed, and no promotion can be granted even by creating equivalent positions under different titles.
Their demands also included abolition of the 100 per cent quota for diploma engineers in 10th-grade posts, opening these positions to all eligible candidates, and restricting the use of the title 鈥楨ngineer鈥� to individuals holding a BSc degree in engineering, with legal action against those misusing the designation.
