Students and job seekers chanting slogans on Dhaka University campus in the city on the second day Monday for reform in quota system in government jobs — FE photo by Shafiqul Alam The students and jobseekers, demonstrating for reforms to quota system in the government jobs, rejected on Monday night assurances by the authorities concerned of giving a decision after examining the quota system, reports bdnews24.com.
They said they will press ahead with their demonstrations until the decision is given or a new order reforming the quota system is issued.
Hasan Al Mamun, a Dhaka University (DU) student - who convened the protests, made the announcement at Raju Memorial Sculpture on the campus at around 7:30 pm on Monday.
The announcement by 'Council to Protect Bangladesh General Students' Rights' led to a running battle between the protesters and the ruling party's student affiliate Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) on the campus.
The protesters gathered flammable objects on the street from Shahbag intersection to the sculpture and set fire to those. They also blocked the streets in TSC and Nilkhet areas.
FE Report adds, earlier on the day, agitating students postponed their protest for a month following an assurance from the government of 'scrutinising' the system.
The decision came after a 20-member delegation of the demonstrating platform met Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader at Bangladesh Secretariat.
The meeting took place in the backdrop of a series of clashes between students and law-enforcers since Sunday evening on and around the DU campus, leaving injured at least 50 people, including students, journalists and police.
The official residence of DU Vice Chancellor was also vandalised and torched during the agitation on Monday early hours.
Hasan Al Mamun said they will go for tougher action, if the government does not meet their five-point demand within the deadline (May 7).
He said a vested quarter torched fire and vandalised VC's house to divert their peaceful protest to a violent one. The student platform has no relation with such unfortunate and condemnable incident.
Students across the country started demonstrating to reform the existing quota, which is now 56 per cent of the civil service jobs. The agitation is being held in most of the public universities from Sunday.
The protest became violent on DU campus on Sunday evening when police started charging baton on the students, Md Rashed Khan, co-convener of the Protesters' Platform, told the FE.
He said police fired a large number of teargas shell, arrested 26 students and left more than 50 injured. The law-enforcers showed atrocity even on Monday noon by firing teargas at Bangla Academy point and Kazi Najrul Graveyard point.
The students are agitating to meet their five-point demand with the slogan - "Reform the existing quota system, make a Bangladesh free of discrimination".
The demands include reducing quota to 10 per cent instead of the existing 56 per cent, fulfilling quota from the merit list, and making the job entry age limit same for all students.
UNB adds, the students of different universities in the country staged demonstration for the second consecutive day on Monday.
They boycotted classes as well as staged demonstrations to press for their demand and protest the police action on job-seekers and students in Dhaka.
Jahangirnagar University students took position on Dhaka-Aricha highway in front of the university's main gate in the morning. At least 60 people were injured when police charged baton, lobbed teargas shells and rubber bullets to disperse them from the highway.
At Rajshahi University, students shut the university main entrance and bus service on the campus. They staged demonstrations on the campus since morning and also blocked Dhaka-Rajshahi Highway for half an hour.
At Chittagong University, students refrained from joining their classes. They put up barricade on rail-tracks in Sholoshohor area of the port-city, halting the movement of university shuttle trains in the morning.
At Khulna University, the students took position in front of the campus on Monday and staged demonstrations at around 11.00 am to press their demand.
At Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, the students staged demonstration in front of the campus as part of the countrywide programme.
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