JnU students made four demands regarding quota system

JnU Correspondent,Bashir Shahriar :

Students of Jagannath University held a human chain and protest march with four demands, including opposition to the restoration of quotas and the reissuance of the 2018 circular. On Monday, under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Jagannath University, the students organized this assembly.

On this day, the students' march started from the Faculty of Arts courtyard, passed through the Faculty of Science, and turned into a gathering at the main gate of the university. The assembly then moved through Ray Shaheb Bazaar and Victoria Park before returning to the main gate of the university, where it concluded. During this time, students chanted various slogans such as "Bury the quota system across Bengal," "Abolish, abolish, we want the abolition of the quota system," and "Rise again, the spirit of '18."

At the assembly, students said that the government had accepted their demands and abolished the quota system in 2018. However, the High Court has reinstated this quota. They emphasized that Bangabandhu envisioned a discrimination-free Bangladesh. In Bangabandhu's Sonae Bangla, a discriminatory quota system cannot exist.

Sajjad Hossain Munna, a student of the tenth batch of the university, said, "We are protesting with four demands. If our demands are not met, we will continue our movement indefinitely. Students from educational institutions across the country will join us in this campaign."

Nakibul Ahsan Nishad, a student of the 13th batch of the university, said, "We demand that the High Court's verdict on the discriminatory quota system be revoked. Additionally, our demand is to ensure employment based on merit, not quotas, in government jobs. Like in various other countries, the quota system in our country needs modernization."

The students have put forward four demands: they insist on upholding the government's 2018 decision to abolish the quota system in public employment and maintain merit-based recruitment policies. They urge the swift formation of a commission to eliminate arbitrary and discriminatory quotas across all government job grades, adhering to constitutional principles. They emphasize that the quota privilege should not be utilized multiple times in recruitment exams, and vacancies under the quota should be filled based on merit if no eligible candidates are found. They stress the need for an effective system ensuring corruption-free, impartial, and merit-based practices in public employment.