Closure of universities in Bangladesh to suppress student protest

From our correspondent

NEW DELHI - The government of Bangladesh on Tuesday night called for the closure of all universities in the country in an attempt to quell a student protest that in just a few days has cost the lives ofsix demonstrators and injured hundreds of others.

The protesters demand the cancellation of a positive discrimination mechanism that favours relatives of those who took part in the country's struggle for independence from Pakistan back in 1971. Under the current rules, having had a freedom fighter in the family guarantees access to a 30% quota of jobs in the coveted public sector. The quota reserved for the family members of retirees is by far the largest of the total of 56% state posts reserved for particular categories.

The issue, only apparently minor, has its own relevance because out of a population of approximately 170 million inhabitants, there are 32 million young people who have neither a job nor are studying to find one. The quota for relatives of veterans had been suspended, after other student protests, in 2018, but a court recently reintroduced it. The case will be taken up in the coming weeks by the Supreme Court.

Despite the fact that the country's economy has been growing at a fast pace for a few years now, the public sector is considered particularly attractive not only by those chasing the dream of a 'permanent job' because it offers average higher salaries than the private sector. Every year about 400 thousand graduates take part in a public competition that offers 3 thousand positions.