Bangladesh has announced the indefinite closure of all public and private universities starting Wednesday. This decision comes in response to violent student protests against the government job quota system.
The protests have been ongoing for several weeks, and unfortunately, they turned deadly this week, resulting in at least six deaths and many injuries.
The students are protesting against a job quota system that reserves 30% of government jobs for descendants of freedom fighters from the 1971 War of Independence from Pakistan. This system has angered many students, especially given the high rate of youth unemployment.
In Bangladesh, nearly 32 million young people are neither working nor receiving an education, in a country with a total population of 170 million.
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The situation worsened after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina refused to meet the protesters’ demands. She cited ongoing court cases and labeled the protesters as “razakar,” a term used for collaborators during the 1971 war, which further angered the students.
The government’s decision to close the universities aims to calm the unrest but highlights the growing crisis.
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