File photo: Student leaders and activists address protestors during a demonstration in Dhaka on October 22, 2024. (Photo by Abdul Goni / AFP)
Dhaka: A Bangladeshi education ministry order demanding officers report institutions and pupils involved in anti-government "provocative activities" was withdrawn on Wednesday after criticism it undermined the spirit of last year's student-led revolution.
The mass uprising spearheaded by students toppled long-time autocrat Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, with an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus taking charge.
The order, signed by the ministry's director of its "monitoring and evaluation" for secondary education, Abed Nomani, was issued on January 2 -- but shot to attention after it circulated on social media and in newspapers.
Wahiduddin Mahmud, the education minister, said he had not been 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 had told officials to "remain vigilant and proactive in preventing students from engaging in provocative actions, driven by propaganda, misinformation, or disinformation against the government or the country".
It did not provide clarification on what those actions might include.
"Officials must notify the authorities if any educational institution or student is involved in provocative activities, so that necessary measures can be taken," it added.
Supreme Court lawyer Snehadri Chakravarty had earlier called it a clear violation of constitutional rights.
"Student-led protests once toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina because people's freedom of speech and expression was being curtailed," Chakravarty told AFP.
"Within five months, some factions of the government appear to be echoing her actions," he added.
"This type of notification is not in line with the spirit of the mass uprising, which claimed so many lives".
More than 800 people died in the months of protests that culminated in the ouster of Hasina's government on August 5, according to the interim government.
