File PhotoSeptember 17 is being observed as Education Day in Bangladesh to remember the students who were killed during the movement for education rights in 1962.
On this day 64 years ago, police opened fire on students protesting against the education policy of the then Pakistani government. Several students were killed.
In 1959, Pakistan’s military ruler Ayub Khan published the Sharif Commission’s education report. It proposed limiting access to higher education and giving Urdu more importance than Bangla.
On September 17, 1962, students of Dhaka University and other institutions took to the streets against the policy. Several students, including Waziullah, Babul, Nazrul, Gaffar and Zubair, were killed in police firing.
The deaths made the movement stronger, and the government later withdrew the Sharif Commission’s education policy.
Education Day is observed every year to remember the students who gave their lives for education rights. Various organisations have announced programmes to mark the day.
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