Students from Titumir College, who are demanding their institution be turned into a university, are continuing their protests, blocking roads and railways as part of their movement.
The Ministry of Education has expressed interest in holding discussions with the students to address their concerns, but the students have made it clear they want the talks to happen where their protest is taking place.
On Monday evening, several officials from the Ministry of Education arrived at the Titumir campus to try and open a dialogue with the students.
However, the students were not on the campus. Instead, they were blocking both the road and railway tracks at the Mohakhali Railway Crossing, demanding that their call for the college to become a university be heard.
At the same time, some students were holding a hunger strike at the main entrance of the college.
Around 7:30 PM, Nuruzzaman, the Joint Secretary of the Ministry’s Secondary and Higher Education Division, shared,
“We are here at the campus to have discussions with the students. The decision to convert the college into a university lies with the higher authorities of the government. However, we are open to discussing other demands with them.”
He added,
“The government has repeatedly made it clear that the demand to transform Titumir into a separate university cannot be granted at this time. Yet, the students are not understanding this. Blocking roads and disrupting railways is not the right way to pursue their demands.”
Zulkarnein, a first-year student in the Department of Physics at Titumir College, spoke to bdnews24.com, saying,
“Officials from the Ministry are here on campus suggesting that we sit down for talks. However, we will not leave the road and railway tracks. They should come to the Mohakhali Railway Crossing to have the discussion with us.”
Earlier that day, around 4 PM, the students had blocked both sides of the road leading to Jahangir Gate from the Mohakhali Railway Crossing and also stopped trains by blocking the railway tracks.
Banani Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC), Russell Sarwar said,
“We are surrounding the students at the Mohakhali Railway Crossing. No high-level decision has been made yet.”
Earlier that afternoon, the students had also blocked the road at the main gate of the Titumir campus by placing bamboo sticks across it.
On January 27, the group ‘Titumir Oikyo’ gave a 48-hour ultimatum for the government to agree to their demand for university status for Titumir College and to set up a proper administrative structure.
If their demands were not met, the group announced they would begin a blockade on Thursday.
That evening, students launched a hunger strike at the main gate, displaying a banner that read ‘Hunger Strike for State Recognition of Titumir University.’
Among the seven demands from the protesters are the issuance of an academic calendar for the new university, state recognition, the establishment of a university administration, the admission process for the 2024-25 academic sessions, and either full accommodation for all students or covering 100% of their accommodation costs.
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