The identities of the militants who killed 20 hostages at the Holey Artisan Bakery in the capital on Friday have bewildered the nation, as these assailants belonged to well-off families and were well-educated, having passed out from renowned educational institutions.
It is really ominous that such terrorists were from some well-known educational institutions and from wealthy families when the common perception is that terrorists and militants are created only in Islamic educational institutions like madrasas, experts said.
They observed that there are problems in the educational system of the country as different trends in education create different kinds of mentality among students here.
The experts said educational institutions, including private universities, cannot evade responsibility, as they are imparting classroom teaching without providing an environment to students to flourish in a non-communal environment.
They urged the government and intelligence agencies to keep a close watch on these prominent educational institutions, as students from such institutions are involved in terror acts, which is a matter of great concern.
They further said that such terror acts would not stop as long as the government continues to blame some particular
political parties and hold Islamic educational institutions responsible for such terror activities.
The killings of 20 hostages, including 17 foreigners, in the café siege in the city’s posh area of Gulshan have sparked panic, both at home and abroad. But the news became even more shocking when the identities of the killers were revealed and it was found that they were from the country’s renowned educational institutions. Guardians have now started to panic.
On Saturday, the US-based SITE Intelligence, which monitors jihadi activities, posted photos of five youths, saying Islamic State (IS) released the images. The post mentioned the five as “Dhaka attackers”, who were all clad in black panjabis and scarves while posing with guns.
Around an hour later, the police
headquarters in Dhaka released pictures of five bodies, saying they were of the café attackers.
The police have already identified four of the assailants.  They were Nibras Islam, who went to Monash University in Malaysia after Turkish Hope School and North South University in Dhaka; Rohan Imtiaz, who went to Monash University in Malaysia after Scholastica School and BRAC University in Dhaka; Meer Saameh Mubasheer, who passed O levels from Scholastica in Dhaka; and Khairul Islam Payel, a madrasa student from Bogra. The identity of the other assailant is still unknown.
Prof. Md Jalal Uddin of the Institute of Education and Research, Dhaka University, told The Independent that the government cannot evade responsibility for such attacks by transferring the onus to other political parties. The matter is serious when children from well-heeled families are involved in such terror acts, he said.
“We’ve problems in our educational system. There is no supervision over all that is going on in the higher educational institutions, especially in the private sector, where children from different families come to study,” he added.
“A mechanism is necessary to monitor the students in respect of where they go and whom they meet. Otherwise, the situation will get worse,” he warned.
Prof. Delwar Hossain of the department of international relations of Dhaka University said, “Militant activities are increasing in the country, and recruiters are targeting those who can properly serve the purpose. But it’s shocking when such recruitment takes place from renowned educational institutions.”
He, too, observed that there is no control over the private educational institutions, especially the private universities, the main task of which is to provide certificates rather than to create a congenial educational environment where non-communal attitudes would flourish among students. “The youths are conflicted when different Western and modern cultures mix with local values. They are then easily misguided, particularly when they are not properly checked,” he said.
“The educational institutions have to provide an environment so as to nurture a non-communal spirit among the students. Reforms are also needed in the educational system,” he added.
Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid told The Independent that it is shocking when students from noted educational institutions are derailed and get involved in terror acts.
He also claimed that there isno fault in the educational system and everyone,
including the government, society and guardians, must come forward to prevent students from getting derailed. They have to be imparted moral teachings.
“Earlier, it was thought that children from poor families get involved in terror acts, but now we can see that children from affluent families are involved as well. The family and society have to keep an eye on children and see what they are doing,” he added.
“All quarters have to be conscious about their children. Only modern education is not enough. Rather, moral teachings have to be imparted, imbued with patriotism, to prevent students from getting derailed,” he asserted.