In a strong protest against the attack on polytechnic students in Cumilla, students at Dhaka Polytechnic Institute covered the institution’s nameplate with a red cloth and held a human chain on Saturday.
The protest, dubbed 'Rise in Red', was organised to express solidarity with the ongoing demonstrations and to voice their dissent over the treatment of diploma engineers and realize their six-point demand.
The campus reverberated with slogans such as "From Mama to Master, the demands of the maternal home", "If Duet is an option, where will the diploma students go?", "Why the attack in Cumilla? We demand answers from authorities", and "Non-tech should not exist in the polytechnic".
The voices of the students echoed their frustrations with the system and the perceived inequities faced by polytechnic graduates in the job market.
This protest is part of a broader movement that has seen polytechnic students staging demonstrations for the past four days across Dhaka and other parts of the country.
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Their six-point demand, which includes the cancellation of a High Court ruling regarding the promotion of craft instructors to junior instructors, have sparked nationwide unrest.
The students also seek the revocation of the controversial craft instructor recruitment policy that was introduced in 2021, and they are calling for the permanent dismissal of those involved in the legal case connected to these issues.
Earlier, on Wednesday, polytechnic students blocked roads in areas like Tejgaon, Mohammadpur and Mirpur, as part of their protest.
The following day, Thursday, they held a marathon meeting with officials from the Ministry of Education, but when no resolution was reached, they vowed to continue their protest. Later that evening, torch processions were organised across various regions in the country.
On Friday, students participated in a mass procession, with many wearing shrouds on their heads, symbolising their commitment to the cause.
Their primary demand was the reversal of the High Court’s decision regarding the promotion of craft instructors to junior instructors, along with the renaming of the craft instructor position and the permanent removal of all individuals connected to the case.
Besides, the students are calling for an immediate cancellation of the 2021 controversial recruitment guidelines for craft instructors, demanding that the appointments be annulled based on a fair investigation.
They also seek action against the chief architect of the controversial appointments.
Mushdiq, a protesting polytechnic student, shared his thoughts: "Polytechnic students are constantly undermined in the job market. Diploma engineers are not given the value they deserve in the workplace. This isn’t the fault of the students; it is a systemic issue."
The students have also demanded that the four-year diploma engineering course be maintained, with the introduction of modernised and high-quality syllabi and curriculum, in line with global standards.