Students of Rajshahi University of Engineering Technology (Ruet) today (3 July) staged a demonstration with a road blockade programme in the city, to press for a three-point demand and in a protest against what they described as “structural discrimination” in the country’s engineering job sector.

The protesting students blocked the road at the city’s Talaimari intersection at 11:30am, disrupting traffic in the area. The blockade continued for around one and a half hours till 1pm.

Before that, hundreds of Ruet students started a protest procession, marching from their campus to the Talaimari intersection, pressing for the three-point demand.

The demands include implementation of a provision that mandates a test for all candidates applying for 9th grade engineering positions or for the role of assistant engineer. In addition, one must have a BSc in engineering degree for the position.

The protesters also demanded that the Technical 10th Grade or sub-assistant engineer post should be kept open to all, so that both diploma and BSc engineers get equal opportunity to appear for the recruiting test.

The third demand is adoption of a law prohibiting individuals other than BSc degree holders from using the title “Engineer”.