Most 'student' leaders, including the current president of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, who graduated from Dhaka University 19 years ago, and the president of the Chhatra League, who graduated from the university in 2001, stopped being students a long time ago.
The Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal is the associate body of students of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Bangladesh Chhatra Dal is the associate body of students of the ruling Awami League.
Many general university students now call the leadership of these students' organisations as 'uncle' committees.
The presence of such older people as leaders of the student bodies, even though they are no longer students, is in breach of the constitutions of each of these organisations.
The incumbent leaders told New Age that there were some student leaders who are overage and no longer students but said that their leadership was needed as the organisations could not 'run smoothly' otherwise.
The most extreme example of the problem is the current president of the Chhatra Dal, Sultan Salah Uddin Tuku, who is about 46 years old and was a student when people were chanting slogans against the autocratic HM Ershad.
The affidavit, available on the Election Commission's web site, which he submitted to be a parliamentary candidate for the Tangail 2 constituency in the 2008 general elections, states that his highest education qualification was a bachelor's degree from the marketing department of Dhaka University in 1992.
The affidavit adds that he is a 'businessman' and owner of Messrs Tisha Enterprise with an annual income of nearly Tk 4.57 lakh.
Apart from being the president of the student body, he is also a member of the BNP's central committee.
Just behind Sultan Salah Uddin is the Chhatra Dal's general secretary.
Amirul Islam Khan Alim is 45 years old, according to fellow activists, and was admitted to the sociology department in the 1988–89 session.
Section B of Provision 6 (1) [Primary Membership] of the Chhatra Dal's draft constitution states: 'Regular students from school to university level and equivalent levels will be able to become members of the organisation.'
Chhatra Dal activists told New Age that at least a hundred on the organisation's 171-member central committee were not regular students or had finished their education at least three years ago, and were aged over 35.
'We need experienced leaders in the central and district-level committees,' said Sultan Salah Uddin.
He claimed that newspapers had exaggerated his age.
'Activists do not follow the orders of leaders who are of the same age and, therefore, we need senior leaders to ensure an effective chain of command,' added Alim, who also claimed that he was a student of Dhanmondi Law College.
The situation in the Bangladesh Chhatra League is a little better, with the oldest member of its central committee being aged about 36.
The Chhatra League president, Mahmud Hasan Ripon, completed his academic life in 2001, according to BCL activists, while Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Ratan, the general secretary, is now aged at least 35, having completed his academic life in 2004.
The Chhatra League's constitution 5(A) sets 29 as the upper age limit and requires that to be a member, one must be a regular student.
According to a number of BCL members, the vice-presidents and joint general secretaries of the organisation are all aged between 32 to 38 years.
Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury refused to tell New Age his age, claiming that his organisation was run by regular students.
It is not only Chhatra Dal and Chhatra League leaders who have long ago stopped being students and are nearing middle-age.
Leaders of the left-leaning student organisations such as the Bangladesh Chhatra League, backed by the Jatiya Samajtrantik Dal, and Samajtantrik Chhatra Front, backed by Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal, are also no longer students.
Hossain Ahmed Tafsir of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal's associate body of students ended his academic life at least a decade ago and is about 45 years old, and the general secretary, Muhammad Shamsul Islam, completed his education some time ago.
And the Chhatra Front's president Sharifuzzaman Shakon ended his student life in 2005.
Activists of both the organisations said they were disappointed at their overage leadership.
'Because of such overage leaders, many regular students could not take part in student politics as they did not get positions in the central, district and university committees,' said a leader of the Chhatra League's Dhaka University unit.
Tafsir refused to tell New Age his age but admitted that his student life had ended long ago.
He and the other leaders said that experienced students leaders were needed for the smooth running of the organisations.
Shaifuzzaman Shakon told New Age that many work for welfare of the students after finishing academic life.
The BNP's student affairs secretary Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie said that overage non-students were leading the organisation because of the political culture of the country. 'We will try to have outgoing students who has recently completed their master's degree in the Chhatra Dal's committee in the next council,' he told New Age.
Ahmad Hossian, the organising secretary of the Awami League, said the Chhatra League is free of overage leadership. 'The Chhatra League follows the age limit of 29 years and the organisation does not have any problem of overage leadership.'
source:New Age
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