Press Release, First of all, we respectfully remember the great sacrifices and martyrs of the students of the July 24 Revolution in achieving the historic victory. The dream of the July Revolution was to build a non-discriminatory, prosperous, and skill-based society.
“Titumir University” is the lifeblood of the past, present, and future generations. A university is not just an educational institution, it is also one of the centers of knowledge practice in the state. Where knowledge is produced and practiced in the process of nation-building. If there was a public university in an important place like Dhaka North City, it could have played an important role in nation-building.
DU, while being affiliated with DU for 7 years from 2017 to 2024, most of the quality and skill-based higher education that DU had promised to provide and the quality of higher education that we expected have not been fulfilled. At the same time, we have also realized that the quality of higher education that we dream of cannot be achieved independently from any other university affiliation except the establishment of Titumir University.
Therefore, there is no alternative to converting the Government Titumir College into “Titumir University”. The movement has been going on for almost three decades from 1997 to 2024 to convert Titumir College into a university. In order to ensure the quality of higher education in Dhaka North City, it has become imperative to convert the Government Titumir College into “Titumir University”.
With the improvement of the civic life of Dhaka North City, the necessity of establishing “Titumir University” has arisen to break the hostage system in the country’s education sector and open the door to higher education. By implementing “Titumir University”, the authorities can provide the state with skilled manpower by closing the factories that create thousands of unemployed every year and ensuring a realistic, up-to-date education system.
In this context, Titumirians have been repeatedly making demands to the state in 1997, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and most recently in 2024. We have conducted various activities since August 2024, some of which are noteworthy.
1. A public signature program was conducted on the campus.
2. A peaceful rally and human chain program was held inside the college campus on Sunday, September 22, 2024.
3. Yesterday, September 25, 2024, a memorandum was submitted to the Office of the Principal Advisor and the University Grants Commission (UGC) in view of our demands.
4. In the next step, a memorandum was submitted to the Education Advisor and Legal Advisor on Sunday, September 29, 2024.
5. On November 5, the students held the “Barasat Barricade to Mohakhali” program, which is still ongoing, and on November 10, the “Death of Education” program.
We, not only as students of Titumir College but also as ordinary citizens of Bangladesh, have handed over a 94-page memorandum along with the file to the responsible persons of the state, including the Honorable President, the Honorable Chief Advisor, the Honorable Education Advisor, and all the responsible persons.
We want to make it clear that it is not our intention to create public suffering. We have always tried to hold a peaceful movement. We tried to stay on campus as much as possible. But when the authorities concerned do not say anything about the students’ demands, the students are forced to take to the streets. Today, when students come to the streets, the students are not responsible for this, but those individuals or authorities responsible who do not want to listen to what the students want and do not want to sit with them, do not want to understand the students.
Despite repeated attempts to contact them, the authorities from the responsible places of the state did not respond positively. As a result, the ordinary students of Titumir College held a peaceful sit-in program for 72 hours with 3-point demands.
In the meantime, the state announced a new committee to reform seven colleges without establishing any contact with the general students of the government Titumir College, which hurt the Titumirians, and the Titumirians completely rejected it.
Even after 72 hours of the committee’s formation, they did not decide on the 3-point demands of the Titumir College students, so the Titumir students declared this committee as “time out”.
The Titumirians have called for a protest program again with the 3-point demands.
The following 3 points-
1. Titumir College should be separated from the 7 colleges by canceling its affiliation with Dhaka University.
2. A commission should be formed to transform Titumir College into a university.
3. Titumir should outline the implementation of an independent university.
When the appropriate state authorities did not decide on the demands of the general students of Titumir College, the students were forced to call for a strict program. Ordinary students will observe the previously announced ongoing program “Barasat Barricade to Mohakhali” under the banner of “Titumir Oikya” on Monday, 18/11/24, from 11 am to 4 pm. Road and rail communication will be included in this barricade. This barricade will continue until the commission is formed for the implementation of Titumir University.
