RU divided over ward quota, many teachers oppose it

Academic and administrative activities at Rajshahi University (RU) remained halted on Tuesday also amid the ongoing protests by teachers, officers, and staff over the alleged humiliation of teachers regarding the issue of ward quota, a system that reserves admission seats for children of university employees.
Classes and examinations were suspended, as indefinite work abstention by teachers and employees began on Monday. The campus remained tense, with uncertainty looming over the rescheduled RUCSU elections, as the quota debate continued to divide the university community.
On September 18, the RU administration suddenly announced reinstatement of the ward quota under certain conditions. The move immediately sparked protests among students, some of whom went on hunger strike until death. At least four had to be hospitalised.
On September 20, the campus witnessed day-long tension marked by scuffles and clashes of teachers and employees with students. The officers' association called for a complete shutdown, while the nationalist teachers' forum declared boycotting all classes and exams. The authorities later suspended the quota reinstatement decision.
According to the university sources, 442 students were admitted under the quota system in the past five academic years. In the 2023-24 session alone, 94 students enrolled through the system. That year, a student who ranked 771st in the merit list failed to secure admission, while another student ranked beyond 7,700 was admitted under the quota.
Many RU teachers, meanwhile, expressed deep frustration over such anomalies. Some of them publicly demanded complete abolition of the quota system, terming it "irrational" and "unjustified".
Prof Mahbubur Rahman of the Fisheries Department said: "The quota system is never logical. As a teacher, I am already privileged. My children will naturally get better opportunities. And even if they don't, I have the means to send them to private universities or abroad. Why should they get undue advantage here?"
Prof Abdullah Al Mamun of the Mass Communication and Journalism Department said: "I am not fully against the quota system, but the way it exists now is problematic. It is often misused. Perhaps one or two per cent quota can be kept only for the third- and fourth-class employees, who are less privileged. But beyond that, it is unfair."
He further noted: "Students wanted fairness in quota distribution. Instead, Sheikh Hasina scrapped all quotas under student pressure in 2018, and then in 2024 restored them all - and now we see the disastrous consequences. The recent scuffles between teachers and students were humiliating to witness."
Prof Md Habib Zakaria of the Theatre Department said: "I was the first teacher to sign when students launched a signature campaign for quota cancellation. After the 2024 Uprising, there is no justification for the ward quota. If the timing was right, RUCSU elections could have been held smoothly like those of DUCSU and JUCSU. That would have been honourable for our university. Instead, what we are witnessing now is disgraceful."

mahmudbijoyru@gmail.com