THE move to ban student politics in two public universities appears shortsighted and worrying. The Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology and Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University have decided to ban student politics on campus. The decision came after the student protests had led to the fall of the Awami League鈥檚 authoritarian regime and in response to general student鈥檚 demand for a ban on student politics. In 2019, the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology made a similar decision after the murder of a student by the Chhatra League, the student wing of the Awami League. Students鈥� demands are based on their experience of violence, harassment and sexual violence as the leaders and activists maintained control of public university campuses, creating an atmosphere of fear. The university administration, also appointed on partisan political consideration, meanwhile, did very little to ensure an academic environment for students at large. Students鈥� grievances against the Chhatra League or student wings of any ruling party warrant serious consideration as the crisis is not student politics but the way ruling parties have exploited the students as extra-legal mercenaries, particularly during the Awami regime.
In the past decades, campus violence and the tyranny of ruling party student leaders have been causes of concern for the students and their guardians. In all public universities, seat allotment in the halls of residence were completely controlled by the Chhatra League. Freshers needed to join Chhatra League, remain absolutely loyal to the League people and join their political programmes for seat allotment. The University Teachers鈥� Network has raised concern about how the government appointed vice chancellors based on their support for the party in power rather than their leadership quality and academic credentials. In the past, on a number of occasions, students have alleged that authorities have allowed physical violence by the Chhatra League to contain any dissent or student protests on campus. There have been no student body elections in any public universities except for the Dhaka University Central Students鈥� Union in 2019 and that, too, was rigged. What the students are up against is a political culture that has exploited the students for partisan gains, not student politics.
Historically, student politics and leadership have paved the way for major political transformation, including the language movement of 1948 and 1952, the education movement of 1962, the student-mass uprising of 1969, the struggle for independence in 1971 and the democratic movement that throttled the military regime in 1990. The student protests seeking reforms in public job quota, leading to the fall of the authoritarian rule of the Awami League, is also a return to this historic legacy of student politics. The university administration and the students must, therefore, mobilise to restore democratically elected student unions and raise voice against politics for partisan and personal gains on campus. The sooner the students realise that banning politics amounts to further silencing their voice, the better.
