Bank recruitment test: BB calls emergency meeting amid protest

Bangladesh Bank today called an emergency meeting tomorrow following protests over mismanagement in the recruitment test of the eight state-run banks a few days ago.

“An emergency meeting has been called to discuss some important issues following the protest over the recent bank’s recruitment test,’ Mosharraf Hossain Khan, Secretary of the Bankers Selection Committee and also general manager of the Bangladesh Bank, told The Daily Star this evening.

The chief of the Bankers Selection Committee and executives of the 14 state-owned banks have been asked to attend the meeting after a group of job seekers threatened to go to the court if the recruitment exam is not cancelled.

The meeting is scheduled to be held around 11:00 am tomorrow with BB Governor Fazle Kabir in the chair, Khan said.

A number of job seekers today brought out a protest procession toward the Bangladesh Bank office in Motijheel with a memorandum demanding cancellation of the controversial recruitment tests.  

But police foiled their procession by charging baton on the agitated job seekers, according to the eyewitness.  

Earlier on Sunday, several hundred job seekers held a protest rally in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka demanding cancellation and retake the recruitment test following mismanagement in the test.  

The job seekers also formed a 15-member committee to continue their movement until their demands are met and threatened to go to the court for legal action.

On 12 January, the recruitment tests for Sonali, Janata, Rupali, Bangladesh Development, Bangladesh Krishi, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation and the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh was held. Hundreds of job seekers at the Mirpur Shah Ali Girls College centre vandalised the exam centre and blocked roads as they did not get seats there for the examination on the day.

Today, the candidates formed a human chain in front of National Museum in Shahbag area around 11:00 am demanding cancellation of the recruitment test. Later, they brought out a procession toward BB office in Motijheel to submit a memorandum its governor. Police blocked them and charged baton when the procession reached Dainik Bangla area, leaving some of them injured.

Talking to The Daily Star, Nasir Uddin Morshed, a protester said, “Our protest was peaceful. We told police that we want to submit a memorandum to the governor, but they didn’t listen to us.”

On Friday, the Bankers' Selection Committee announced to retake the recruitment tests on January 20 following demonstration of the candidates of two exam centres over seat shortage and mismanagement.

According to the protesters, more than 5,000 candidates of the two centres -- Government Bangla College and Hazrat Shah Ali Mohila College in Mirpur -- could not take part in the recruitment test.

The recruitment test for the posts of senior officer, officer and cash officer was held at 61 designated exam centres in Dhaka to fill over 1,663 vacancies at the state-run banks.