Engineering students’ problem to be resolved if proposals submitted: Senior Secretary

If the engineering students submit their proposals through ministry, their problems will be resolved, said Senior Secretary to Public Administration Md Mokhlesur Rahman.

He said this while talking to reporters at the Secretariat regarding the government’s stance on the movement on Wednesday.

The senior secretary said if the students submit their demands in the form of a memorandum, the government will be able to resolve their problem in a short time, UNB reports. 

Students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and other engineering universities blocked Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka for five hours on Tuesday, pressing for their three-point demand.

As no specific assurance came from the government, they announced a ‘Long March to Dhaka’ programme on Wednesday, where engineering students from across the country joined.

Rahman said multiple bodies, including the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Ministry of Public Administration, the Cabinet Division, the Legislative Division, and the ministries where engineers are currently employed, are involved in it.

“This will be taken up in an inter-ministerial meeting. If the matter is placed there, it can be resolved in one or two meetings. This is not a very complex issue,” he said.

He assured that the proposals will not be ignored and the government will look at it positively.

When asked about the simultaneous protests by diploma engineers, the senior secretary said both groups are part of the government service and there is no problem with the private sector.

Their demands are to enter the engineering 9th grade or assistant engineer or equivalent posts, candidates must pass a recruitment examination and hold at least a BSc degree. No promotion should be given through quotas, nor should equivalent posts be created under different names for promotion.

The recruitment test for the technical 10th grade or Sub-Assistant Engineer or equivalent posts must be open to candidates with at least a diploma as well as those holding higher degrees (BSc) in the same discipline.

Legal action must be taken against those using the title of engineer without holding a BSc degree in engineering.

Non-accredited BSc engineering courses must be brought under IEB-BAETE accreditation through the proper process.