Special Correspondent :
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved finally the review committee recommendation on scrapping of all types of quotas in recruitment to civil service for the 9th to 13th Grades, which are categorically defined as Class I and II jobs.
Quotas, however, will stay in recruitment to other government jobs [grades from 14th to 20th] which are defined as class III and class IV.
The special cabinet session held at Prime Minister’s Office at Tejgaon on October 3. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting.
“Today’s cabinet decision will be sent to the Ministry of Public Administration in the next couple of days. The Public Administration Ministry would issue a gazette notification shortly,” Cabinet Secretary M Shafiul Alam told journalists at a briefing session after the meeting.
Earlier on September 17 this year, a review committee headed by the cabinet secretary had placed a set of proposals including abolition of quotas in case of recruitment to the class-I, class-II jobs.
At the Wednesday’s press briefing, the Cabinet Secretary told journalists that quotas will remain functional in recruitment under grades III and IV.
He said the government may reintroduce quotas to give privilege to underprivileged anytime in the future considering importance of necessity.
The government had formed a 7-member Review Committee headed by cabinet secretary on July 2 in order to review, restructure and/or cancel the quota systems in the wake of protests across the country by students.
A large number of students graduated or studying graduation and undergrads in different public and private universities staged a series of demonstration in the city and elsewhere of the country demanding review of quota system.
In recruitment for all the public services, 56 percent jobs were preserved under various quotas while the remaining 45 percent keep on merit basis for years that prompted unemployed graduates and undergrad students to stage agitation seeking more scope in public services.
In the existing recruitment system, Freedom Fighters and their heirs enjoys 30 percent quota, 10 percent district quota, 10 percent women quota, 5 percent for tribal people (ethnic minorities) and another 1 percent for the disabled if candidates unavailable under other quotas.
The latest move of the government has reopened the way of 100 percent merit basis competition at the first and second grades of public sector jobs.
