The News
Bangladesh has closed all high schools, Islamic seminaries and vocational facilities in the country until further notice, as violence erupted during student protests, according to reports.
At least five people have been killed and hundreds injured as of Tuesday in the escalating clashes between opposing student groups, some of which have prompted local police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets, Al Jazeera reported.
The protestors have demanded an end to hiring quotas for public sector jobs, particularly one that reserves 30% of all such jobs for the family members of veterans of the country’s 1971 independence war. Public-sector jobs are coveted for their stability and pay, but there is just not enough of them to offer to the hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi graduates each year who might qualify otherwise.
Some critics also say the quotas system favors pro-government supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who won a fourth term earlier this year with virtually no opposition.