Opposition Leader Raushon Ershad on Thursday urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in parliament to consider the demand of students to reform the quota system with sympathy as she has a motherly heart.
In her winding-up speech in the budget session of the House, she also called upon the Prime Minister to increase the age-limit to 35 for entering government jobs and fix 65 year as the retirement age.
“There’s confusion among our children about quota. It’s usual that they’ll seek jobs on completion of their studies. It’s also usual for them staging demonstration (demanding quota reforms). They’re our children. We must ensure jobs for them,” Raushon said.
She further said: “I would like to urge the Prime Minister through you [Speaker) to consider the quota reform issue with sympathy. I know our Prime Minister has a motherly heart. I, therefore, request you to consider the
issue. I know she’ll do it as she loves the country and its people.”
Stating that some 5 crore capable people currently remain unemployed in the country, the Opposition Leader called upon the government to focus on job creation. “You (govt) will have to create jobs. Or else, the young generation will take the wrong path.”
She also said the unemployment leads to an increase in drug peddling as many jobless youths get engaged in it for making money.
Raushon suggested the government to take steps for rapid industrialisation in the country for generating jobs for unemployed youths. She also underscored the need for increasing the budgetary allocation for the education sector. “It’s regrettable that the allocation proposed for the education sector is very low. It should have got the highest allocation.” The Opposition Leader urged the government to take proper steps for ensuring quality education so that students can qualify for better jobs also in the private sector.
Raushon also urged the government to give proper attention to improving the country’s healthcare services so that people need not to go abroad for better treatment. “We need to build proper infrastructure and appoint adequate number of doctors and nurses alongside procuring all modern equipment for improving the healthcare services. She also talked about different issues, including environment pollution, food adulteration, rundown roads and traffic jams in the capital and decentralisation, and urged the government to take necessary steps.
The opposition leader criticised the Finance Minister for what she said keeping incentives in the budget for 2018-19 fiscal for those involved in plundering banks. “But, there’s no incentive for common people.”
She urged the government to take necessary measures for reforming the banking sector and checking plundering, and ensure good governance in the sector.
About the current 10th parliament, Raushon said this parliament is the most effective and successful one in the history of Bangladesh, no matter who says what about it. “Many people criticise the present parliament. But no parliament in the past, especially in the last 20 to 25 years, was as effective as the present one.
