Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman on Saturday alleged that no commission had been formed to reform the education sector whereas the historic July uprising began from the educational institutions.
He made the remarks at a discussion titled 鈥楻ally and Conference鈥� organised by University Teachers Network at Dhaka University, marking the anniversary of the July mass uprising.
Criticising the silence around reforms in the business sector, Iftekharuzzaman said, a syndicate of politicians, bureaucrats, and businessmen has institutionalised a system of 鈥榢leptocracy鈥� in the country.
He also emphasised the need for reforming the business sector and lamented that the ongoing bureaucratic reforms were also far from adequate.
Referring to the suppression of indigenous voices, he said, only selective words are used by the media when it comes to indigenous issues because the military controls those regions.
Iftekharuzzaman also observed that there was no discussion around reforming the country鈥檚 intelligence agencies, which have become a major driver of authoritarianism. 鈥極nly individuals are changed, practices remain the same,鈥� he said.
Speaking at the discussion, Supreme Court senior lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua said the judiciary continued to be politically weaponised, which he termed unacceptable and improper.
Presiding over the session, Dhaka University professor Gitiara Nasreen highlighted the significance of the event.
Two keynote papers were presented on 鈥楶ost-July Uprising Politics in Bangladesh: Risks and Possibilities for Democratic Transformation鈥� and 鈥楶ost-Uprising Realities in Educational Institutions across the Country鈥�.
The session was moderated by Professor Samina Luthfa of DU. Teachers from several public and private universities were in attendance.
Earlier on the day, a procession under the banner of Anti-Repression Teachers鈥� Rally was brought out from the Aparajeyo Bangla sculpture at 11:00am. They marched past TSC and ended at the Faculty of Social Sciences.