The Bangladesh Chhatra Odhikar Parishad on Tuesday, protested a new proposal to hand over teacher recruitment authority in MPO-listed educational institutions to local managing committees.

Speaking at a press conference at Madhur Canteen in Dhaka University, leaders of the student organisation warned that replacing the long-standing merit-based system with managing committee recruitment will revive a culture of nepotism, corruption, and cash-for-jobs practices across the country.

They described the decision as “anti-people” and warned that making a “joke” out of unemployed youth will lead to severe consequences.

In addition to protesting the teacher recruitment decision, the leaders presented a three-point demand to the government covering the swift filling of government job vacancies, resolution of campus unrest, and solutions to the ongoing power, gas, and fuel crises.

Chhatra Odhikar Parishad President Nazmul Hasan described the initiative to appoint teachers through managing committees instead of the Non-Government Teachers Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) as a bigger “cancer” than the quota system. He emphasized that the NTRCA has provided transparent, impartial, and merit-based recommendations for hiring teachers in private educational institutions since 2015, making any sudden alteration completely unacceptable.

Nazmul Hasan noted that a meeting chaired by Education Ministry Secretary Abdul Khalek on 3 August decided to restrict the NTRCA strictly to registration and certification, stripping it of its power to make hiring recommendations. He accused the ministry of double-dealing after the education minister presented the matter differently the following day, and he demanded an official investigation into who made the decision and through what process.

“If managing committees regain recruitment authority, the culture of nepotism and favouritism seen in the past will return,” Hasan warned, adding that students will reject any imposed system.

Central General Secretary Sanaullah Haque stated that the government took a glaring anti-people decision, though student protests may have forced it to back down. Expressing fear over allies of the former regime within the government, Sanaullah alleged that certain officials might deliberately make contentious choices to provoke public anger.

“Important issues like hiring teachers in private educational institutions should not leave room for personal influence, political identity, or financial transactions,” Sanaullah insisted, stressing that qualification and merit must remain paramount.

Mahtab Islam, General Secretary of the Dhaka University branch, called the initiative a “process of de-meriting the country” and urged the government to strengthen the existing NTRCA process rather than making rash decisions.

During the press conference, the leaders also addressed broader political issues. Sanaullah demanded the return and trial of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and called cricketer Shakib Al Hasan an “ally of Hasina” who must also face justice.

The organisation concluded by reiterating three primary demands: cancelling the move to recruit teachers via managing committees and enhancing NTRCA transparency, filling vacant government posts rapidly, and resolving campus unrest as well as energy shortages.