Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman today urged Islami Chhatra Shibir to prepare for a "new battle" aimed at reforming the country's educational institutions.

He described the initiative as crucial to addressing the "substandard and purposeless education system" in Bangladesh.

"Education, being the nation's backbone, has been targeted the most," Shafiqur said at a members' council organised by Islami Chhatra Shibir at Suhrawardy Udyan.

"The current system lacks research, excellence, morality, and alignment with global standards. Everything has been utterly destroyed."

Calling on Shibir to take responsibility for restoring the education system, he said, "Educational institutions should only focus on education and research. No machete-wielding groups, drug addicts, or armed individuals should be allowed there. Those who create 'Gonorooms' [overcrowded dormitories associated with coercion and violence] should not be allowed entry."

"Those who engage in tender manipulation and extortion have no place there. This responsibility is yours to take," he added.

He urged everyone to refrain from any reckless actions that might cause confusion or disrupt national unity.

The Jamaat Ameer demanded justice for killings that occurred under the Awami League government, including the death of Abrar Fahad.

"The nation wants justice. Not a single criminal should escape. No matter how long it takes, justice must be served," he said.

The Jamaat leader accused the Awami League of transforming educational institutions into "armories filled with weapons and liquor bottles" and targeting religious students.

"They (Awami League) cannot be called a political party. Those who sit in power and fail to act responsibly, killing people to protect their rule, can never be a political party. They are a terrorist organisation. They have emptied the arms of countless mothers by killing many, including Abrar Fahad and numerous others. The government has banned their student organisation."

"This was not limited to Dhaka University or BUET; they took over educational institutions across the country as if they were occupied territories. They even desecrated our girls' educational institutions. Such atrocities were committed against our daughters," he said.

Referring to the Liberation War, he claimed that the benefits of independence had not reached ordinary citizens. He alleged that "a group hijacked independence and handed it over to a neighbouring country," citing the Indian prime minister's Victory Day greetings as evidence of India's undue influence.