Infrastructural development sans human resource management brings no help

The nationwide quota reform movement waged by the students which made the fall of the government is not the result of a sudden event. Rather, it can be said that this movement started from the accumulated anger of many days. The movement to reform the quota facility in government jobs has seen massive participation of students from public universities and colleges. At one stage students of private universities and colleges also participated in it.

There are several reasons behind this student movement. In recent times, there has been a remarkable improvement in the economic sector of the country. The previous government expressed various cheers about GDP growth and infrastructural development. They have shown economic development as a measure of their success. But the GDP growth achieved during the last government period did not create new employment in the country. In the language of economics, such development is called 'jobless development' or development without employment. Such projects are being taken up where huge sums of money are being spent but employment opportunities are not being created to the desired extent.

At the moment, there is no alternative to create massive employment opportunities in the country's economy. We are nationally committed to poverty alleviation. But poverty alleviation is not possible without creating adequate employment opportunities. But the issue of creating employment opportunities is not getting much importance in our development efforts. The development projects that are being implemented are not creating new employment opportunities to the desired extent. Rather, it is narrowing such opportunities in some areas by closing down many jute mills, sugar mills resulting thousands of workers jobless. Only an unemployed person understands the pain of being jobless. At least three to four lakh posts are vacant in the education and medical sectors of Bangladesh. No initiative is being taken to fulfill them.

The main objective of the government is to provide opportunities for some people in the private sector to create wealth. Due to not giving proper importance to the private sector, this sector is also not able to achieve the desired level of development. A large part of the financing from banks to private sector entrepreneurs is diverted to other sectors or smuggled abroad. The level of corruption in the country has increased tremendously in the last 15 years. No way corruption can be controlled and brought down to a tolerable level. Although the previous government had been talking about the 'zero tolerance' policy against corruption. But in reality no reflection of zero tolerance policy was observed in their work. Certain groups have been given opportunities to make money through corruption. As a result, the economic disparity between the rich and the poor was increasing.

On the one hand, the number of rich people in the society is increasing. At the same time, the number of poor people is also increasing. Due to high inflation, the common man is facing a lot of disaster today. The inflation rate published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics is much higher than the actual rate of inflation. When you go to the market, you can feel how the price of every goods is increasing. With the change of government, the prices of products in the market started to decrease. Businessmen said that the activity of the syndicate has decreased a lot. As a result, they are able to sell products at relatively lower prices than before.

Big mega projects have been undertaken during the previous government. No scrutiny has been done on the necessity of these projects. Infrastructural construction like roads and bridges is being shown as a symbol of development. But how necessary these projects are for national interest is not thought. There is interest in implementing projects where there is profit. These projects are being implemented by spending more money than other countries of the world. Most of the projects cannot be implemented on time. As a result, the cost of the project increases. It is a waste of state money. The common people are not able to enjoy the benefits of these schemes on schedule. But if a project is delayed, no one is held accountable. A class of privileged people who are loyal to the government are increasing their wealth by misusing the state money.

The way corruption has increased in the country in the last 15 years is unimaginable. The objective of undertaking and implementing development projects is to provide financial benefits to some people. The issue of employment is being neglected. Bangladesh is currently going through a demographic dividend. The situation when two-thirds or more of the total population of a country is in working age i.e. between 15 and 60 years is called demographic dividend. The demographic dividend situation occurs only once in a nation's life. According to some, this condition occurs once in a thousand years. At present, about 66 percent of the total population of Bangladesh is working. But we are not able to provide suitable employment for that large number of working people. According to a report, Bangladesh's young ie working population has started to decline. Not many people realize that Bangladesh is going through a demographic dividend. As a result, initiatives are not being taken by the state to create broad-based employment opportunities. The bad thing is that new employment opportunities are not being created to match the economic growth. As a result, there is frustration among the youth. They find that even after completing higher education, the state cannot guarantee them suitable employment.

It is not possible to solve the problem of unemployment only by providing jobs in government institutions. That is why the development of the employment sector is essential. But the private sector is also not developing properly. Several posts in government institutions have been lying vacant for a long time. No initiative is being taken to fill these vacant posts. And there are various problems in the organizations where job recruitment notices are given. No job is available in any organization without giving party support and incentives.

Question papers are being leaked in various job exams. One cannot get a job in any government institution without resorting to corruption. Even if you get a small job, you have to pay a bribe of Tk5 to 10 lakhs. As a result, job seekers are disappointed. On top of that there is scope for depriving suitable job seekers in the name of quota facility. Besides, government jobs have quota facilities and 56 percent of the jobs were reserved for quota holders. There was a 30 percent quota facility for freedom fighters. The students had no objection to this. But when the quota facility was extended to the sons and daughters and grandchildren of the freedom fighters, the students protested against it. If there were sufficient number of employment opportunities in the private sector or if one did not have to resort to corruption to get a job in the government institutions where there are employment opportunities, the students might not have been so angry.

In 2018, the movement started with the aim of reforming quota facilities in government jobs. Till then 30 percent quota was fixed for children of freedom fighters. There was not much reaction in the society about it. But when the quota was extended to the grandchildren of the freedom fighters, there was a huge backlash. In 2018, then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina angrily canceled the quota facility completely. That directive had no legal basis. The quota facility was reinstated through the Act. Basically the students are angry about it. They started the movement. People from all walks of life supported the students' movement. Because they are worried about the future of their children.

When the student movement started, the government started repression without taking the initiative to solve the problem through dialogue. Students were shot dead. As a result, public support for the protesting students increased. The demand for quota reform turned into a movement to bring down the government. Common people were angry with the government for its failure to control inflation. Their anger was expressed through the quota reform movement. Corruption is rampant in the country. There was oppression everywhere. Extortion was very open. No one can say anything to a ruling party leader. They could do whatever they wanted. These injustices undermine the popularity of the government. Tyranny and economic crisis put the government in jeopardy. Besides, the electoral system has been disrupted. Due to which people could not vote in the election. Because of these reasons there was anger in the minds of the common people. In the name of suppressing the students' movement, BCL workers were sent to the field. The protesting students were fired upon indiscriminately. But despite doing so much, the government could not stay in power.

The situation that unfolded three or four days after the Prime Minister resigned will remain a scandalous chapter. Such behavior should not be done in any way. In the interim, the government should identify the culprits and ensure proper justice. The political culture must be reformed to ensure that such a situation does not arise again in the future.

Anu Muhammad: Eminent Economist and Emeritus Professor, Department of Economics, Jahangirnagar University.

Transcribe: M A Khaleque