Quota reform: Students again block Shahbagh intersection

Anti-quota protesters blocked the Shahbagh intersection again on Friday, demanding the cancellation of the government job quota system and reinstatement of a 2018 circular.

Although anti-quota protesters announced countrywide rallies on campuses in response to yesterday's police action on students in several locations outside Dhaka, students of Dhaka University and Dhaka College blocked Shahbagh intersection around 5:20 pm.

Dhaka University students brought out a rally from the central library around 5:00 pm and gathered at Shahbagh intersection. Later, students of Dhaka College joined the protest.

Earlier on Thursday night, Nahid Islam, a spokesman for the quota movement, declared countrywide rallies on campuses.

The quota system, which reserved 56 percent of positions in government jobs for various quotas, was abolished in 2018. This decision was challenged in 2021 by descendants of freedom fighters, leading to a High Court ruling on June 5, 2024, declaring the abolition of the freedom fighters’ quota illegal.

The government subsequently applied to the Chamber Court of the Appellate Division to suspend the order.