Govt withdraws 5% secondary school admission quota for families of July uprising victims

The education ministry has backtracked on its decision to allocate a 5% quota for the family members of those injured or killed in the 2024 July uprising in state-run secondary schools, just a day after announcing the initiative.

The Secondary and Higher Education Division of the ministry issued a new directive in this regard on Monday, signed by Rahima Akter, deputy secretary (Secondary-1).

Instead of allocating quota, the new directive, seen by The Business Standard, states that one additional seat per class, beyond the allocated lottery-based admission seats, will be reserved for the family members of those injured or killed in the July uprising.

The decision comes after the ministry's earlier move to allocate quotas faced strong criticism from student and political organisations, with some accusing the interim government of using the quota system for political purposes.

Reserve seat

To qualify for the reserved seat, applicants will need to submit verified copies of relevant documents or gazettes as proof and present the original documents at the time of admission to get the seat, according to the directive.

Besides, the directive states that the admission process must ensure proper verification of gazettes issued by the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs for the martyrs of the uprising.

If no eligible students from affected families apply, the seat will be filled from the merit list. Under no circumstances should the seat remain vacant, said the directive.

Referring to the matter, Environment, Forests, Climate Change and Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Tuesday (4 March) said this facility will be a one-time facility for the admission of family members of those injured and martyred in the July Uprising 2024 to schools, reports UNB.

"It is being considered as part of the one-time assistance being provided to the affected families. It is in no way comparable to a quota," she told reporters at the Foreign Service Academy.

Quota issue

On Sunday, the government, in an office order from the education ministry, extended 5% quotas in government secondary schools to family members of the July uprising victims alongside the children of freedom fighters.

On Monday, speaking at a press conference at the Dhaka University, the Bangladesh Chhatra Odhikar Parishad accused the interim government of extending the quota to the family members of those injured or killed in the 2024 July uprising for political reasons.

The student platform warned of launching a strong movement unless all quotas in educational institutions and the Bangladesh Railway are abolished.

Criticising the government's move, Chhatra Odhikar Parishad President Bin Yamin Molla said, "The quota system we fought to abolish has been reinstated in just seven months. This decision contradicts the spirit of the mass uprising. We believe that merit should be the sole criterion for evaluating students in educational institutions."

He also pointed out that ward quotas remain in place for railway jobs and primary educational institutions, and the government has not addressed these issues in the past seven months. 

Yamin warned, "If these discriminatory quotas are not abolished, we will intensify our movement.