A Bangladesh Education Ministry order requiring officials to report institutions and students involved in anti-government “provocative activities” was withdrawn Wednesday after criticism that it undermined the spirit of last year’s student-led revolution. .
The massive student-led uprising toppled autocrat Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, with an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus taking over.
The order, signed by the ministry’s director of “monitoring and evaluation” for secondary education, Abed Nomani, was issued on January 2, but attracted attention after it circulated on social media and newspapers.
Wahiduddin Mahmud, the education minister, said he was not aware of the order and that it had been cancelled. “The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education was not instructed to issue any notification,” he said. “This matter will be investigated.”
The now-cancelled order called on officials to “remain vigilant and proactive to prevent students from engaging in provocative, propaganda-driven, disinformation, or disinformation actions against the government or the country.”
He did not provide clarification on what those actions might include.
“Officials should notify the authorities if any educational institution or student is involved in provocative activities, so that necessary measures can be taken,” he added.
Supreme Court lawyer Snehadri Chakravarty had earlier called it a clear violation of constitutional rights. “The student-led protests toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina because the people’s freedom of expression was being restricted,” Chakravarty said. AFP.
“In five months, some factions of the government seem to echo his actions,” he added. “This type of notification is not in keeping with the spirit of the mass uprising that claimed so many lives.”
According to the interim government, more than 800 people died in the months of protests that culminated in the overthrow of Hasina’s government on August 5.
