How long will the institutions remain non-functional in the movement of teachers and students?
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Pic: Barta24.com
Even before the start of the quota reform movement, public university teachers and officers-employee movement has been the educational environment of the country. As the students' movement gained momentum, the movement of teachers and educational institutions related to the scheme called 'Pratyaya' of universal pension has withdrawn from the discussion. Although this movement on pension is out of discussion, it is still going on. Teachers and educational staff are on strike since July 1 demanding the withdrawal of the Universal Pension Scheme certificate. They have announced that they will remain in the movement until their demands are met.
The education system of the country is already stagnant. Now the quota movement has been added. This movement is not about education, but about jobs after education. The protestors demand equal opportunities, equal rights. They want government job benefits based on merit and not quota. In their view, this demand is not unfair, although while making a 'fair demand', they are unfairly insulting the country's freedom fighters. Questioning the freedom fighter quota, many have risen to mock the great liberation war and heroic freedom fighters. After half a century of independence, many are mocking the reason for the participation of freedom fighters in the liberation war. This is undesirable, and should be the subject of legal remedies. After the 'Holocaust Denial Act', the long-standing demand to enact the 'Liberation War Denial Crime Act' in the country, if it had been enacted, then the liberation war and brave freedom fighters would not have had to face such humiliation from time to time.
It is well known that after the 2018 quota reform movement, the government scrapped the quota system. In the circular issued on October 4 that year, direct recruitment to the posts of 9th (formerly Class I) and 10th to 13th grade (formerly Class II) would be based on merit. The existing quota system for direct recruitment to the posts of Grade 9 (formerly Class I) and Grades 10 to 13 (formerly Class II) has been abolished. After the circular of the government, 7 students challenged it and wrote a writ. On the 5th of last month, the High Court canceled the circular and ruled. Then on June 9, the state filed an application to suspend the judgment of the High Court. In the appeal verdict on July 10, the court stayed the High Court's verdict and fixed the date for the next hearing of the matter after four weeks.
Since the beginning of the movement, the government has been saying that the court will decide on the quota. Students say that the government has to take a decision. In such a situation, on July 11, the summary judgment declaring the circular issued in 2018 invalid by canceling the quota in government jobs has been published. A bench of Justice KM Kamrul Quader and Justice Khizir Hayat delivered the summary judgment on Thursday. The published summary judgment said that the government can change, reduce or increase the ratio of quota if necessary. And this judgment will not create any obstacle on the government. If the quota is not filled in any public examination, the government can fill up vacant posts from the general merit list. The verdict directed to restore the quota for children, grandchildren of freedom fighters. At the same time it is asked to maintain quotas for districts, women, persons with disabilities, tribal-minorities. The High Court's partial judgment asked to publish a notification in this regard as soon as possible within 3 months of the judgment.
The status quo judgment of the Appellate Division was followed by a partial judgment by the High Court, which appears to leave it entirely up to the government. If the government wants to, it can give executive decisions about the quota. Due to the status quo, the government's circular regarding the 2018 quota has come back in the interim period. But since the matter is pending for appeal hearing and judgment then it cannot be said that it is actually in the hands of the government. Appellate Division's status quo has no effect on the judgment of the High Court; The order to reduce and increase the ratio of quota while maintaining all the quotas is also ineffective. When the High Court gave a judgment in disposal of the writ, when that judgment was stayed by the Appellate Division, then in actual sense the circular of 2018 is also a matter pending before the Appellate Division. Here, therefore, the government can only assure the agitator, but does not seem to be able to decide in the light of the previous circular or the judgment of the High Court (suspended on appeal).
The quota system, the High Court judgment, the stay on appeal—didn't the whole matter get bogged down in legal interpretation and waiting? Now the movement to cancel the quota, pressure on the government for a new decision has become a subject of trial. In such a situation, which way should the agitating students go? If they do not withdraw from the movement, they will be ignored by the highest court of the country, they may be charged with contempt of court; again, giving a new decision on the quota of the government to pacify the agitators may also be tantamount to ignoring the court. Moreover, when the government and the courts have started to look at the matter positively, there is no chance of it being settled on the streets alone.
After the status quo of the Appellate Division, the government's 2018 circular on quota is back. At the end of the hearing, till the verdict of the appeal, the government can follow the circular, but it cannot do anything new with the increase or decrease here. Although the partial judgment published by the High Court was talking about reduction and increase. However, along with the decision to cancel the circular, this reduction-increase issue is also suspended in the appeal. So in the meantime it is not advisable to do anything other than the exact observance of the previous circular. If the appellate judgment advises the Government on abatement, or prescribes otherwise, that will be the case. In the meantime, the government can reassure the agitators and ask the agitators to wait. The protestors have the opportunity to present their statement in court. The court will surely give further instructions after listening to everyone's statement.
If there is no movement on the quota, it will be settled at some point. Hope something honorable for all parties will come from court and government. What will happen to the movement of public university teachers-officers-employees? The education of the country is immobilized by the movement of the university concerned. They are seeking withdrawal of the Universal Pension Guarantee Scheme. Without discussing whether their demand is reasonable or unreasonable, is there no solution? The teachers' leaders claim that they are not able to communicate with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, they are not able to convey their views to the policy makers of the government. That is, the government is not paying attention to this movement. They are not able to meet the prime minister due to various engagements, but why is the education minister not taking initiative on such a big issue? It is his responsibility to play a role in solving this instability and instability of the educational environment.
Be it quota, teachers-officials-employees of public universities, it is the responsibility of the government to protect the logical interests of anyone at any stage. Some may make reasonable claims to protect these interests, some may make unreasonable claims; However, the government should consider all demands seriously. The government will accept demands related to public interest, it will not accept anything that is against public interest - that is consistent. But the mindset of preconceived decisions will not solve the problem, but will make small problems bigger. At the time of teachers' movement, the country was shaken by the students' movement, so there is no room for teachers to look lightly at this movement for pension because this pension movement has already paralyzed the education sector of the country.
There will be multi-faceted problems in the country, but there must be an initiative to solve them. With the quota movement, the pension movement should be given equal importance. Otherwise, the inactive campus will not be operational.