Ban on student, teacher politics to be placed at cabinet today

A proposal on two previous decisions on banning student and teacher politics at educational institutions is expected to be placed at the cabinet meeting today, said education ministry sources.

The decisions, made in a cabinet meeting during the Ershad regime, have not been implemented yet.

However, the issue came up once again in 2014 when many public universities, medical colleges, polytechnic institutes and government colleges saw incidents of violence and clashes.

Sources said the decisions to ban student and teacher politics on campus were taken at a cabinet meeting on December 8, 1986.

According to them, educational institutions would be freed of politics to ensure an atmosphere conducive to education.

In that meeting, the education, law and home ministries were also asked to prepare a report on whether the political parties would have any front organisations on campuses and students could form any party and run their activities on campuses on their own.

They were also asked to recommend whether the university teachers could engage in politics on campus as a member of a political party, the sources added.

But no further progress was made.

During the 2007 caretaker government rule, the issue of banning student politics returned to the fore. But the move drew flak from different quarters.

In 2014, the education ministry convened a meeting on the same issue following a flare up of violence at different public universities, with the activists of the pro-ruling party student body getting involved in factional clashes and fighting with activists of the opposition parties.

But again no decision was taken in this regard, said sources.

Meanwhile, two bills titled "Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution Law-2018" and "National Jute Policy-2018" are likely to be placed at today's cabinet for its approval.