BANGLADESH: UNIVERSITIES AND THE FAILURE OF STUDENT POLITICS

A PROJECT OF THE INTERNATIONAL REPUBLICAN INSTITUTEBANGLADESH: UNIVERSITIESAND THE FAILURE OFSTUDENT POLITICS

BANGLADESH: UNIVERSITIESAND THE FAILURE OFSTUDENT POLITICSCenter for Insights in Survey ResearchIRI.org@IRI Polls 2020 All Rights Reserved

Bangladesh: Universities and the Failure of Student PoliticsCopyright 2020 International Republican Institute. All rights reserved.Permission Statement: No part of this work may be reproduced in anyform or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without thewritten permission of the International Republican Institute.Requests for permission should include the following information: The title of the document for which permission to copy material isdesired. A description of the material for which permission to copy is desired. The purpose for which the copied material will be used and themanner in which it will be used. Your name, title, company or organization name, telephone number,fax number, e-mail address and mailing address.Please send all requests for permission to:Attn: Department of External AffairsInternational Republican Institute1225 Eye Street NW, Suite 800Washington, DC 20005info@iri.orgCover Image Description: Students demand justice over the murder ofstudent Abrar Fahad in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Photo: Shutterstock

3IRI IRAQ Returnees & CoexistenceOVERVIEWIn the autumn of 2019, the International RepublicanInstitute (IRI) conducted a qualitative researchstudy of Bangladeshi university students tounderstand the challenges they face on campusand to assess the effectiveness of political partiesand their student wings in addressing studentconcerns.IRI partnered with a local research firm to organizeeight focus group discussions (FGDs), one ineach administrative division of Bangladesh.Each FGD was held with students from a publicuniversity in that division and included male andfemale students of different education levels(undergraduate and graduate) and subjects ofstudy. In total, 77 students participated in thestudy (37 female and 40 male). As part of theselection criterion, FGD participants were notformally affiliated with a student wing or politicalparty in order to solicit nonpartisan perspectiveson campus politics. The FGDs were conductedin October and November of 2019. As commonwith qualitative research, the findings from theseFGDs are not necessarily representative of allBangladeshi students’ opinions.

IRI BANGLADESH Student Politics4KEY FINDINGSFinding 1There is an opportunity for student political leaders to address campusproblems. The most cited issue was access to dormitory rooms (“hall seats”).The most frequently cited issues were(in rank order): Insufficient dormitory rooms (“hall seats”)Inattentive teachersCampus politicsPoor facilitiesUnresponsive administrationInsecurityLack of transportationPoor medical careBad foodOut-of-date curriculumStudent disunityDelayed exams due to campus unrest(“session jams”)Mental health problemsSmall stipendsLack of internshipsDrug abuseStudents of Jagannath University stage a demonstration todemand the construction of new residential halls, Photo: AlamyFinding 2Politics and political favoritism exacerbate campus problems.Across the FGDs, students complained thatpolitics exacerbated campus problems, withthe ruling Awami League’s (AL) student wing,the Chhatra League (BCL), dominating campusactivities.Access to “hall seats” — dormitory rooms —illuminate the intersection of inadequate facilitiesand the politics of exclusion on campus. Thesescarce resources are allocated to students alignedwith the BCL, or those willing to concede toits demands. A male student in Rangpur said,

IRI BANGLADESH Student Politics“Whenever a student wants to get a seat in a hall,the local Chhatra League members demandmoney.”1 A student in Sylhet said, “If you want toget into a hall, you have to be part of a politicalparty. Many students don’t want to get engagedin politics. Those who are ordinary students don’twant to be active in politics. So, there are no seatsfor them.”Among other perquisites, participants stated thatstudents from the BCL often eat for free in thedining hall, get seats on university transportation,are awarded inflated grades and receive theirdiplomas more quickly after graduation.This politicized favoritism is linked to a broaderculture of political bullying. A student in Rangpurtold us that during his second year, BCL members“checked all our cell phones, scolded us, and askedus why we didn’t go to political rallies regularly.It was winter and very cold outside. They took allour warm clothes away.” Other students sharedsimilar experiences. “We had to live under ChhatraStudents of Dhaka University carry the national flag infront of Raju Memorial, Photo: Alamy[Student politicalleaders] think of themselvesas extremely powerful andimportant they think theycan do whatever they want.”— Female student in SylhetLeague. We had to attend most of the politicalrallies. It was compulsory at that time,” a malestudent in Dhaka said of his first year. A femalestudent in Dhaka said, “I saw the beating of a girl.One of the senior sisters [upper-class femalestudents] beat a girl with a rope because the girllied about participating in a political movement.”Participants complained of a culture of impunitythat starts at the top with the administration andruns down to politically affiliated students. A malestudent in Rangpur argued that there is a “dirtypolitical scheme” operated by the administrationand teachers to politicize campus activities thatis hurting his university’s reputation. A femalestudent in Sylhet said student political leaders“think of themselves as extremely powerful andimportant they think they can do whatever theywant” because they have assurances from teachersand administrators that they will not be punished.The FGDs were conducted in Bangla. Therefore, quotes cited in this report were translated from Bangla to English and have been minimally edited to ensureclarity. As much as possible, the English translations preserved the syntax, word choice and grammar of the Bangla speaker.15

IRI BANGLADESH Student Politics6Finding 3Students are deeply cynical about political parties, which they believe areself-interested and do not represent student concerns.Participants said political parties are notconcerned about students or citizens. A femalestudent from Dhaka said, “If political leaders doanything for students’ concerns, they do it forcertain political interests.” A female student fromRangpur argued, “When a party comes to power,they only think about themselves. They don’t careabout the public’s demands and welfare. They giveus so much assurance with their words but whenit comes to work, they are nowhere to be found.”FGD participants also said parties manipulatestudent politics. A male student in ChittagongI cannot believe anypolitical party. I think theybetray students and will dothe same thing with me.”— Male student in Chittagong2Hefazat-e-Islam is a conservative Muslim social movement.contended, “I think political leaders don’t careabout us, rather they think about their owninterests. They are busy with the number ofmembers they get from among the students.They think: How can I influence the students?How can I make my team larger? Literally, theygive no importance to us.” Another male studentin Chittagong stated, “I cannot believe any politicalparty. I think they betray students and will dothe same thing with me.” A female student fromKhulna said, “No party cares about our opinion.We can’t give our opinion even if we want. We feelafraid. We have no freedom of speech. We haveto think many times before sharing something.We are afraid of retaliation from political parties.”Other participants attributed this culture oncampus to the state of national politics. A malestudent from Khulna said, “Whenever anymovement occurs, one party blames another.Awami League blames BNP [the oppositionBangladesh Nationalist Party]; BNP blames AwamiLeague; and Hefazat2 says it’s done by some otherparty. They are always busy blaming each other.So we are not getting any importance.”Several students observed that parties supportyouth only after they agitate for change. A femalestudent in Rajshahi said, “I think that in any kindof movement, students are the first to appear,and later political parties enter.” A female studentfrom Barisal argued, “Yes, political parties give usimportance. But not before we shed our sweatand blood.”

IRI BANGLADESH Student Politics7Finding 4The student wings of Bangladesh’s political parties fail to representstudents’ interests but have the potential to serve a beneficial role.Most students said that the student wings ofpolitical parties represent the interests of theirmembers and parties rather than their classmates.A male student in Khulna stated, “Here, studentpolitics doesn’t reflect the way it should be.Student politics should deal with the rightsand needs of all students, but here most of thepolitical leaders only think about themselves.”A female student in Chittagong asked, “Earlier,student organizations used to work for thecountry and general students, but those whoare in power now, are they working for us?”While some FGD participants said their classmatesjoined student wings out of a desire to lead, mostsaid student wing members joined for the perks ofpower: hall seats, free food, favors from teachersand money. A male student from Rangpur alleged,“No one is joining Chhattra League motivated byBangabandhu’s3 ideals.”Although opposition political groups have littlepresence on campus, students said the studentwings of both the AL and BNP try to co-optcampus movements. FGD participants said BCLroutinely falsely claims credit for successfulstudent protests. However, opposition-alignedgroups also frame their efforts around nationalpolitics instead of student issues. A femalestudent in Chittagong complained, “After themurder of Abrar,4 the BNP-led student wingtried to raise its voice for Khaleda Zia. They hadno intention of justice for Abrar; only their owninterest.” Another student in Chittagong argued,“Both Chhatra League and Chhatra Dal5 practicethe same thing.” A male student from Barisalconcluded, “I think it does not make sense thatstudent politics is political party-based. As long asit remains party-based, there will be problems.”FGD participants said that student wings shouldimprove accountability and work to representstudent concerns to politicians and universityadministrators. A female student in Barisal said,“Student wings should be the ‘linkers’ who takeour problems to a higher authority.”Finding 5Students want more civic education on campus.Despite pessimism about politics, students areinterested to learn about civics and government.FGD participants favored more civic educationon campus, specifically on topics like politicalideology, creativity, leadership, morals, and thehistory of Bangladesh. A male student fromKhulna said, “It would be good if they arrangeda workshop every week. They should provide345us with an opportunity to know more about thehistory and heritage of Bangladesh.”Participants felt that increased civic education andpolitical engagement could improve the overallpolitical climate. A female student in Rangpurexplained, “Students think that politics meansfighting and violence. I think this kind of mentalityBangabandu is the common nickname for Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s liberation leader and first president.Abrar Fahad was a Bangladeshi student murdered by Chhatra League members on October 7, 2019.Chhatra Dal is the BNP’s student wing.