Staff Reporter :
A group of general students on Saturday demanded to reform the existing quota system in various government jobs, including BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service).
They came up with this demand from a rally held at the base of the Razu Memorial Sculpture on the Dhaka University campus on Saturday morning.
Under the banner of Bangladesh General Students Rights Protection Movement (BGSRPM), the students also announced that they would observe a protest programme at all the educational institutions across the country on Thursday.
They said, currently only 44 percent persons are recruited on merit and the remaining 56 percent on privilege allocated under various quotas.
Imran Hossain, a Masters student of Persian Language and Culture Department of Dhaka University, read out a written statement addressing the Prime Minister.
In the statement, Imran Hossain placed an eight-point demand on behalf of the protesting students.
The demands are reform quota system to a moderate level, meritorious candidates should be recruited if eligible one is not found under the quota system, jobs hopping taking benefit under the same quota should be stopped, a person with a secured job under quota facility should switch to another only on the basis of merit, uniform cut mark should be ensured in preliminary examination, existing quota system should be reformed following experts’ advice, no recruitment should take place under a fixed quota and full implementation of clauses no 1 and 2 of the Article 29 of the constitution and stop discrimination in the recruitment process.
They also suggested the government to follow the practice of Indian quota system while reforming the existing quota system so that the real marginalised communities are benefitted, the statement reads.
According to two clauses of the Article 29 of the Constitution of The People’s Republic Of Bangladesh:
(1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in respect of employment or office in the service of the Republic.
(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office in the service of the Republic.
The students also threatened of tough movement if the government did not meet their demand soon.
