Students of technical and vocational institutions staged a blockade at Dhaka’s busy Satrasta Mor (intersection) on Wednesday (Sept 17), demanding justice and sweeping reforms in the technical education sector.

The demonstration began around 11:15 a.m., bringing traffic to a standstill in the Tejgaon area. The protesters, under the banner of the Technical Students’ Movement, said they were opposing what they described as attempts to undermine technical education and monopolise engineering jobs.

The students have issued a four-point demand, warning that they will hold a nationwide protest and sit-in next Wednesday with participation from students of all polytechnic institutes.

The four demands are - maximum punishment for those who allegedly threatened to shoot and kill diploma engineers in the name of the "Engineering Rights Movement", an immediate end to all state-backed activities in favour of what they call the “unjust three-point demands” of BSc engineering students, full implementation of the six-point proposal earlier submitted by the Technical Students’ Movement, and adoption of a unified engineering education framework.

The students said their movement seeks to secure the rights of diploma engineers and ensure that technical education receives proper recognition and institutional support.

SMS/