Desk Report: Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir has strongly protested and condemned the government’s decision to conduct classes three days online and three days in person each week in schools and colleges across Dhaka metropolis and other major cities in the country. In a joint statement issued today (Tuesday, March 31), the organization’s central president Nurul Islam and Secretary General Sibgatullah expressed this protest. The leaders demanded the immediate withdrawal of this hasty decision and called for ensuring regular in-person classes, even if it requires special budget allocations.

In the statement, the leaders said, “The decision taken at a coordination meeting held at the Secretariat on March 31 to introduce three days of online classes per week in educational institutions in Dhaka and other metropolitan areas is extremely unfortunate and short-sighted. On one hand, the government claims there is no fuel crisis in the country; on the other hand, it is imposing online classes in educational institutions citing a fuel shortage. This contradictory stance amounts to deception of the people. If there truly is a fuel crisis, why is the burden being placed primarily on innocent students? Keeping all other sectors and luxuries operational while targeting only educational institutions is essentially a deep conspiracy to deprive the nation of intellectual growth.”

Recalling the bitter experiences during the COVID period, the leaders added, “Online-based education caused multifaceted harm to students. Due to high internet costs and lack of devices, a large number of students suffered from learning gaps and were disconnected from educational activities. At the same time, uncontrolled use of smartphones pushed young minds toward device addiction and moral decline. The disruption of classroom-based learning severely affected students’ regular study habits. Under such circumstances, repeating the same approach means knowingly pushing students’ academic lives into darkness.”

In conclusion, the leaders stated, “There is no scope to curtail students’ fundamental right to education under the pretext of resolving fuel shortages or traffic congestion. The government must prioritize the education sector and take effective and responsible measures. Otherwise, the government will have to bear the consequences. We call for the immediate withdrawal of this unreasonable decision and for ensuring regular in-person education for all students.”