A mass gathering was organized on 04 May 2025 Sunday, at the head office of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission on behalf of scientists, officials and employees from all levels of the commission to protest the restoration of autonomy and the ministry’s unwanted interference and authoritarian behavior. After the mass gathering, a delegation of scientists, officials and employees submitted a memorandum along with copies of the mass signatures collected in support of the demand to the Honorable Chief Advisor to the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
To resolve the existing problems, a memorandum was submitted to the Science and Technology Advisor on 15.12.2025 on behalf of the scientists, officers and employees of the Commission. After receiving no response and opportunity for discussion from the Ministry regarding the said memorandum, a letter was again submitted on behalf of all the organizations of the Commission on 10 April requesting to resolve the existing problems. Even after receiving no response from the Ministry, a press conference was organized on behalf of the scientists, officers and employees at the Commission’s head office located in Agargaon, Dhaka on 22 April 2025 and a peaceful sit-in program was announced from the same day. In continuation of this, a sit-in program was simultaneously held from 10 am to 12 noon in all the institutions of the Commission from 23 April 2025. After that, a simultaneous sit-in and public signature collection program was held in 40 institutions established in different places of the country including the head office of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission on 27-28 April 2025. Later, a sit-in program and black badge wearing were held on April 29 and 30 from 10 am to 12 noon.
It is worth noting that the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) was established in 1973 to promote the peaceful use, development, promotion, research activities, service and education related to nuclear energy in Bangladesh, implement nuclear power plant development projects and carry out related matters in accordance with the norms of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This commission is a specialized research institution established by Presidential Order No. 15 of 1973 and governed by Act No. 23 of 2017.
During the rule of the previous fascist government, the Minister of Science and Technology and the concerned bureaucrats ignored the law of the Commission by leaving the top posts of the Commission vacant, weakening the Commission and turning it into a subordinate institution to the Ministry. Even after the departure of the fascist government, there has been no change in the situation, rather the authoritarian behavior of the bureaucrats of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the unwanted interference in the work under the jurisdiction of the Commission are increasing day by day, which is seriously damaging the autonomy of the Commission and is having a negative impact on the efficiency, dignity and morale of the Commission. In this situation, the research activities and service activities of the Commission are being seriously affected. In this context, since the concerned authorities have not taken any initiative to implement the ongoing movement and the 11-point demands, a memorandum was submitted to the Honorable Chief Advisor for the implementation of the demands.
The 11-point demands of the memorandum:
1. Form a full commission by quickly appointing permanent members to the vacant positions of the chairman and members of the commission.
The Science and Technology Minister and the concerned bureaucrats of the previous fascist government, instead of forming a full commission, weakened the commission and turned it into a subordinate institution subordinate to the ministry. Even now, the commission has a responsible chairman and only one member on active duty. Due to the absence of a full commission, the decision-making and implementation process in the commission’s activities is being severely hampered. In order to overcome this situation and to conduct the functions of the commission smoothly, it is necessary to form a full commission immediately.
2. In the interest of maintaining the autonomy of the Commission, the ministry’s interference in the work within the Commission’s jurisdiction must be stopped and a research-friendly and respectful working environment must be ensured.
The Ministry of Science and Technology has been interfering in the internal affairs of the Commission outside of policy matters, which is increasing day by day. It is necessary to ensure a respectful working environment by stopping all kinds of unwanted interference by the Ministry for the smooth conduct of the Commission’s research and service activities and administrative work. In order to advance research activities related to sensitive nuclear technology and utilize its benefits appropriately, the issue of taking the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission under the direct control of the head of government outside the Ministry of Justice, like the Atomic Energy Commissions of India and Pakistan, may be kindly considered.
3. The authority to grant prior approval and nomination for higher education and training in the country/abroad should be returned to the commission.
According to Article 34 of the BAPSHAK Service Rules-1985, the Commission has the jurisdiction to grant prior permission and nomination for participation in higher education, fellowship, research, visiting assistantship, seminar, symposium, workshop, etc. abroad. The Ministry of Science and Technology’s Memorandum No. 351, dated August 24, 2016, directed that prior permission for participation in the mentioned events be given through the Ministry. Nomination for foreign training was also taken over from the Commission to the Ministry in 2017. In many cases, the decision to grant prior permission and nomination from the Ministry leads to unwanted delay, suitable candidates are ignored, as a result, many scientists of the Commission are deprived of participation in higher education or short-term events despite not having the necessary qualifications and financial support from the government/commission. The recent increase in such incidents is creating anger and frustration among scientists, which is hindering the continuation of the overall research and development activities of the Commission. In such a situation, the authority to grant prior permission and nomination for higher education and training in the country/abroad should be returned to the Commission as per Article 34 of the BAPSHAK Service Rules-1985.
4. Bureaucratic complexity and discrimination in the provision of GOs for higher education, training, etc. must be eliminated, and the obligation to be included in the IDSDP, including requesting irrelevant information, must be stopped.
From the inception of the Commission till 2011, prior permission and Government Order (GO) for higher education/training were issued by the Commission. But in 2011, the power to issue GO was vested in the Ministry; since then, various bureaucratic complications are being created in the issue of GO in favor of the Commission’s manpower as per the demand. Recently, the unwanted interference of the Ministry officials has increased to such an extent that several scientists have not been allowed to pursue higher education abroad despite having full scholarships. Similarly, many scientists have not been given GO to participate in various seminars/symposia/workshops etc. abroad. On the other hand, the Ministry officials are themselves taking nominations for technical training, excluding scientists only for the purpose of traveling abroad. In the last one year, officials of the Ministry of Science and Technology have participated in or been nominated for about 30 different foreign trainings on nuclear technology. Most recently, scientists who received the very prestigious Fulbright Fellowship of America and JSPS Fellowship of Japan have not been given GO for Post-Doc by the Ministry. When the current government is encouraging higher education abroad and calling on various universities and donor organizations abroad to provide higher education scholarships, it is necessary to investigate and take immediate action to determine which evil forces in the ministry are obstructing higher education despite receiving prestigious full scholarships from abroad.
In addition, during the previous government, the Ministry of Science and Technology created an online platform called Integrated Digital Service Delivery Platform (IDSDP) as a service delivery platform. Despite the lack of relevance and rationality, scientists/officials of the Commission are being forced to be included in the said platform as a prerequisite for nomination and issuance of GO. Recently, several scientists/officials were not nominated and issued GO as they were not included in the said platform. The Commission is the employer of the scientists/officials of the Commission, so it is desirable that the personal profiles of the scientists/officials be on the Commission’s own website.
5. To ensure the security and confidentiality of the Commission’s nuclear information, the Commission should be kept out of the iBAS++ system and the Commission’s jurisdiction to deposit its funds in scheduled banks and to meet expenses as per the rules should be maintained as per sections 20(1) and 20(2) of the BAPSHAK Act, 2017.
The scientists of the commission believe that it is not appropriate to upload such information to a public system like iBAS++ as information related to nuclear science research, projects and its management costs is very sensitive. In no other country in the world is nuclear material, related research costs or personal information of nuclear scientists disclosed. According to Articles 9(1) and 9(2) of the Physical Security of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Installations Regulations of Bangladesh, 2024, there are instructions to ensure the security of information of nuclear installations, protect the confidentiality of sensitive information and limit access to information. On the other hand, the IAEA Nuclear Security Series No. 23-G has urged to keep information that may affect nuclear security (such as information related to the use, storage and transportation of radioactive materials; details of officials, employees, suppliers and contractors) secure.
Further, as per Section 20(2) of the BAPSHAK Act, 2017, the funds of the Commission shall be deposited in a specified scheduled bank in the name of the Commission and shall be managed in the manner prescribed by the rules. Depositing funds in the PL account in iBAS++ shall be in contravention of the said Act.
It is worth noting that the ministry stopped the payment of salaries in favor of the commission due to its non-inclusion in the iBAS++ system, resulting in 2,500 employees of the commission not receiving their salaries before Eid (March 25). This is the first inhuman, degrading and unacceptable incident of stopping salaries in the 52-year history of the commission.
In such a situation, the Commission should be given reasonable time to verify the suitability and complete the necessary preparations (information security, creation of an up-to-date organizational structure, permanentization of temporary posts created in the revenue sector, amendment of service rules, etc.), and for the time being, the Commission should be allowed to continue financial management under the existing manual system, keeping it out of the iBAS++ system.
6. All the demoted posts of scientists, officials and employees must be upgraded to the prescribed grades and discrimination must be eliminated.
