Former Bangladesh Civil Service cadres, except those belonging to the administration cadre, on Saturday urged the authorities to resolve the crisis regarding the proposed Dhaka Central University on the basis of the recommendations of education experts and the opinions of stakeholders.
They alleged that the crisis regarding the seven government colleges in Dhaka, which were earlier affiliated with the University of Dhaka, intensified as the authorities attempted to resolve the situation by excluding key stakeholders, including the BCS (general education) cadre.
They made the remarks at a press conference, organised by the Anti-Discrimination Retired 25 Cadres Coordination Council, a combination of former BCS cadre officers representing education, health, agriculture and other technical cadres, at Dhaka Reporters Unity鈥檚 Sagor-Runi Auditorium in the capital.
The council鈥檚 coordinator, Ahmed Ali Chowdhury, read out a written statement and said that a new crisis has arisen in the education sector regarding the seven government colleges, earlier affiliated with the National University, in Dhaka city.
鈥榃ithout any kind of study, these seven colleges were affiliated to Dhaka University in 2017 solely on the basis of personal political decisions,鈥� said Ahmed Ali.
Although the students were initially happy, later they began a movement, raising allegations of mismanagement and neglect towards the students, he said.
To find a solution, the education ministry formed a committee on December 29, 2024, in which no one from the education cadre was included, claimed Ahmed Ali, alleging that the exclusion intensified the crises.
Conflicts and clashes have already occurred among different student groups as some have taken a stand in favour of the university and some against it, he mentioned.
鈥業t is not right to close the country鈥檚 best colleges and run speculative or experimental courses,鈥� he said.
Besides, the combine demanded promotions and benefits for deprived retired BCS cadres with retrospective effect, as given to a large number of admin cadre officials in the recent past, to bring an end to inter-cadre discrimination.
They also demanded promulgation of an ordinance with important recommendations of the Public Administration Reforms Commission to eliminate inter-cadre discrimination.
