The Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) on Thursday staged a protest rally against the exclusion of 57 candidates from the final gazette of the 49th BCS (Special) Examination-2025, alleging that political considerations and the verification process had deprived qualified candidates of government jobs.
The rally began in front of the university’s Central Library around noon. DUCSU leaders along with students took part in the procession, which marched through the Arts Faculty area before ending in front of the DUCSU building.
The government published the final gazette on Wednesday, appointing 611 candidates to the BCS General Education cadre, while the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) had earlier recommended 668 candidates for appointment.
Addressing the protest, DUCSU VP Sadik Kayem alleged that the government was depriving students with opposing political views of their constitutional right to equal opportunity in public employment.
“Tell us that under Article 29 of the Constitution, nobody will get a government job without recommendations from Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal or BNP MPs and ministers,” he said.
Sadik alleged that the current administration was disregarding Article 29 of the Constitution and using political considerations to exclude students with different political views from government employment.
He also criticized what he described as politicization in the PSC and the use of verification processes to exclude qualified candidates from government recruitment.
“BNP has become disconnected from the people and has no ground beneath its feet. That is why they are behaving abnormally,” he said.
Sadik also blamed the government for what he described as widespread failures, including shortages of electricity, fuel and fertilizer and severe load-shedding across the country.
He warned that discriminatory practices would not be tolerated in Bangladesh after the July mass uprising and said students would continue protesting to protect their right to employment, even at the cost of their lives.
DUCSU Assistant General Secretary Mohiuddin Khan alleged that attempts were being made to suppress dissent through politicization in various recruitment processes, including BCS and primary school teacher appointments, under the pretext of verification.
“Many qualified candidates have been left out of the gazette despite securing first place in their subjects or departments, simply because of their political differences. This is a form of administrative discrimination,” he said.
Calling for merit to be given priority over political affiliation in government recruitment, he warned that undermining merit in favour of partisan considerations could have serious consequences.