DHAKA: Thousands of Bangladeshi university students threw roadblocks across key highways on Sunday, demanding the end of “discriminatory” quotas for coveted government jobs, including reserving posts for children of liberation heroes.

Students in almost all major universities took part, demanding a merit-based system for well-paid and massively over-subscribed civil service jobs.

“It’s a do-or-die situation for us,” protest coordinator Nahidul Islam said, during marches at Dhaka University. “Quotas are a discriminatory system,” the 26-year-old added. “The system has to be reformed”.

The current system reserves more than half of posts, totalling hundreds of thousands of government jobs. That includes 30 per cent reserved for children of those who fought to win Bangladeshi independence in 1971, 10 percent for women, and 10 percent set aside for specific districts.

Students oppose 30pc posts for children of ‘liberation heroes’, 10pc for women and 10pc for specific districts

Students said only those quotas supporting ethnic minorities and disabled people — six percent of jobs — should remain. Critics say the system benefits children of pro-government groups, who back Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was Bangladesh’s founding leader.

Hasina, 76, won her fourth consecutive general election in January, in a vote without genuine opposition parties, with a widespread boycott and a major crackdown against her political opponents.

Critics accuse Bangladeshi courts of rubber-stamping decisions made by her government. The system was initially abolished after weeks of student protests in 2018. But in June, Dhaka’s High Court rolled that back, saying the cancellation had been invalid.

‘Wasting their time’

Hasina has condemned the protests, saying the matter had been settled by the court.

“Students are wasting their time,” Hasina told female activists from her party on Sunday, Bangladeshi newspapers reported.

“After the court’s verdict, there is no justification for the anti-quota movement.” Protests began earlier in July and have grown in size. “We will bury the quota system”, students chanted on Sunday in Bangladesh’s second city Chittagong, where hundreds of protesters marched.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...
Islamabad protest
Updated 20 Nov, 2024

Islamabad protest

As Nov 24 draws nearer, both the PTI and the Islamabad administration must remain wary and keep within the limits of reason and the law.
PIA uncertainty
20 Nov, 2024

PIA uncertainty

THE failed attempt to privatise the national flag carrier late last month has led to a fierce debate around the...
T20 disappointment
20 Nov, 2024

T20 disappointment

AFTER experiencing the historic high of the One-day International series triumph against Australia, Pakistan came...