Chaos at RU Exam Halls: AL, BCL men halt recruitment test
Ruling party men once again stopped a recruitment test at Rajshahi University yesterday, forcing job seekers out of the examination hall, say RU officials and witnesses.
Around 3,308 job seekers, many of them from faraway districts, went back home in fear of violence, as leaders and activists of the RU unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League and Rajshahi city unit of Awami League blocked all three university gates for around seven hours since 8:20am.
The university authorities were yet to make any move against the ruling party men, who threatened not to allow the authorities to hold any recruitment tests on the campus without their consent, several RU officials told The Daily Star.
Since April last year, the AL men have been putting pressure on the university authorities for providing jobs to the party men.
Only two days ago, local AL leaders foiled a viva voce for recruiting class-IV employees at Rajshahi University School on the university campus.
Besides, Rajshahi city AL General Secretary Dablu Sarkar assaulted RU Vice Chancellor Prof Mizan Uddin at the latter's office on April 20 last year, demanding jobs for ruling party men.
“What steps can we take under such circumstances where senior ruling party leaders are involved,” Prof Mizan told this newspaper yesterday.
He said they had informed the police of the matter, and additional policemen had been deployed on the campus since morning.
Contacted, AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, president of Rajshahi city AL, said they supported “the movement of locals, AL leaders and activists” who refused to accept the recruitment process under some “vague rules made with an ulterior motive”.
Seeking anonymity, a senior RU teacher alleged that some AL and BCL leaders took money from locals, promising them jobs at the university. “But the university authorities are alert.”
Asked, Liton refuted it, saying such allegations are being made to “hide the failure of the RU authorities”.
Following the publication of job vacancy notice by the RU authorities on October 17, around 5,000 job seekers applied for 38 posts of cataloguer, bibliographer-cum-reference assistant, data entry operators, library assistant, press machine man, mason, carpenter, mason helpers, electrical helper and book binder.
The authorities selected 3,308 applicants to sit for written tests for 27 posts yesterday.
About 30 minutes before one of the scheduled tests, a group of BCL activists locked the examination hall at the Fourth Science Building where 87 applicants were about to take tests for the posts of cataloguer and bibliographer at 8:30am. The BCL men also put glues on the locks, said witnesses.
The authorities later broke the locks, and the tests began at room no-223 at 8:45am, 15 minutes behind schedule.
Within minutes, a group of BCL men entered the hall and asked the applicants to leave, said a number of applicants.
When some of the applicants protested, the BCL men beat them up, tore their admit cards and hurled abusive words. Later, the BCL men drove them out of the campus.
In the meantime, BCL activists blocked all three university gates at 8:20am, as two other tests were scheduled to be held at 10:00am and 3:30pm.
Later, AL leaders and activists from the city joined them and staged a sit-in.
The ruling party men kept the gates blocked until 3:30pm when the RU authorities postponed the day's recruitment tests in the face of their protests.
“It is very unfortunate that I cannot sit for the recruitment test. I've travelled a long way for this,” said Emon Biswas who came to Rajshahi from Nilphamari to sit for the written test for the job of data entry operator.
Parvin Sultana from Rangpur said the BCL men didn't allow her to enter the campus.
“Go home sister. We are not getting any work, so you don't have any chance here,” she quoted a youth as telling her.
“It is very sad,” she said.
On the recruitment process, Prof Mizan said, “We are trying our best to recruit staff following the standard procedures. If we do anything that goes against people's welfare, we must be corrected.”
“Any citizen has the right to raise question about our process, but it should be done in a proper way…”
The VC said no one has lodged any complaint against the recruitment process.
AL leader Liton said the RU authorities made a rule that the applicants for jobs of Class III and IV employees cannot be above 30 years of age whereas other universities don't have any such age limit.
Many of those working on a temporary basis at the RU cannot apply for these jobs as they have already crossed 30, he said.
To apply for the job of peon, an applicant must have an SSC certificate without third class in any exam, and also computer literacy with a typing speed of 20 words per minute, he said, referring to the RU rules for recruitment.
“We fail to understand what a peon would do with computer literacy and what is the problem if a peon has got third class in an exam.”
“This made one thing clear to us that the authorities are trying to give job opportunities to the special ones,” said Liton, also former mayor of Rajshahi.
“The authorities didn't talk to us… Many of our leaders and activists who live around the campus expect jobs at the university.
“We are objecting to the recruitment, as we saw anti-liberation forces are making their way to the campus through recruitment.”
The AL leader claimed he has evidence regarding this, and he would show it when necessary.
Earlier on November 4, Liton came down heavily on the RU authorities for not giving jobs to his party men.
He argued that the RU administration recruited 544 employees without following any rules during the tenure of the BNP-Jamaat government whereas the present administration is making the rules tougher.
REACTIONS
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, termed the incident a shameful example of violation of the constitution.
“This is an absolutely unacceptable example of violation of the constitutional provision of ensuring a level playing field in public sector recruitment.
Failure to prevent such use of force will be ominous for the RU and also for the evolving political culture and democratic practices in the country, he added.
Mizanur Rahman, former chairman of Human Rights Commission, said, “The ruling party doesn't have to depend on these people to stay in power. Times have changed.
“They should be identified as criminals and brought to justice.”
PABNA INCIDENT
On September 17, 2010, leaders and activists of BCL and Jubo League entered two exam centres during a recruitment test for jobs of class-III and class-IV employees at Pabna deputy commissioner's office.
They snatched exam papers and admit cards from the examinees and set those on fire.
Later, two cases were filed in connection with the incident. But the accused BCL and Jubo League men were acquitted of the cases.
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Belayet Ali Billu, the then public prosecutor in Pabna, said the accused were cleared of all the charges for lack of witness and evidence.
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