Get ready to bring reforms to education system

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman yesterday urged Islami Chhatra Shibir to prepare for a "new battle" for reforming the country's education system.

He described the initiative as crucial to addressing the "substandard and purposeless education system" in Bangladesh.

"Education, being the nation's backbone, has been targeted the most. The current system lacks research, excellence, morality, and alignment with global standards. Everything has been destroyed."

He made the remarks as the chief guest at a members' council organised by Chhatra Shibir at the Suhrawardy Udyan.

The event was inaugurated by Md Musleh Uddin, father of Ali Raihan, organising secretary of Rajshahi Metropolitan Islami Chhatra Shibir, who was killed during the uprising in Rajshahi.

During the closing session, names of the new president and secretary general of Chhatra Shibir, pro-Jamaat student body, were announced by Shibir chief election commissioner Matiur Rahman Akand.

Zahidul Islam and Nurul Islam were elected as the president and secretary general of Chhatra Shibir central committee respectively.

At the inauguration,family members of some of those killed in the uprising, such as Abu Sayed, Faisal Mahmud Shanto, Wasim, and Osman, as well as the injured were also present.

Calling on Chhatra Shibir activists to take the responsibility for improving the education system,Shafiqur said, "Educational institutions should only focus on education and research. No machete-wielding groups, drug addicts, or armed individuals should be allowed there. Those who create "Gono rooms" [where freshers were crammed] at university dormitories should not be allowed entry.

"Those who engage in tender manipulation and extortion have no place there. This responsibility is yours to take," he said. He urged everyone to refrain from any reckless actions that might cause confusion or disrupt national unity.

The Jamaat leader accused the Awami League of transforming educational institutions into "armouries filled with weapons and liquor bottles and targeting religious students".

"It [AL] cannot be called a political party. Those who sit with power and fail to act responsibly and kill people to protect their regime, can never be a political party."

Referring to the Liberation War, he claimed that the benefits of the independence had not reached the citizens.

He alleged that "a group hijacked independence and handed it over to a neighbouring country" and cited Indian prime minister's Victory Day greetings as evidence of India's undue influence.

Addressing the event, Sarjis Alam, a coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination, said Chhatra Shibir supported the July uprising both directly and indirectly by being present on the streets and playing the role of allies in crucial steps.

Calling for unity, he said, "If we remain united, we can collectively confront not only killer Hasina and people like her."

"We have found Islami Chhatra Shibir as allies in 2024. From our side, we want to make it clear that the truth can never be suppressed. It is only a matter of time before it is revealed."

"Over the last 16 years, killer Hasina has targeted anyone she perceived as a potential threat... We have witnessed so many innocent people, including religious scholars, were imprisoned, harassed, tortured, and even killed simply because she saw them as potential threats.

"We believe that many key figures and organisations, including Islami Chhatra Shibir, were made to endure unbearable circumstances by killer Hasina in this free country," said Sarjis, adding that the current conscious generation is enough to reject fascist Hasina and her prescriptions.

Among others, Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, Secretary General Prof Mia Golam Parwar, Islamic scholar Mufti Kazi Ibrahim, Bangladesh Labour Party Chairman Mostafizur Rahman Iran, Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar) Chairman Mustafa Jamal Haider, Gono Odhikar Parishad (Reza Kibria) leader Faruk Hasan, Jatiya Ganotantrik Party Vice- President Rashed Pradhan, and Jatiya Nagorik Committee Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain, spoke on the occasion.