Bangladesh: Schools closed after 6 killed in protests against quota system

Authorities in Bangladesh ordered schools and universities across the country to remain closed for an indefinite period. This decision came after six students were killed in protests over reforms to quotas for jobs in the public sector.

On Tuesday, there was a significant increase in violence as protesters and pro-government student groups clashed, while police dispersed rallies with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Education Ministry spokesman M. A. Khair told AFP the shutdown order was issued for "the security of the students".

Three of the victims died in the southern port city of Chattogram, more than 300 kilometers from the capital Dhaka, while two were killed in Dhaka and one in the northern district of Rangpur, police said.

Authorities deployed the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in five major cities, including Dhaka and Chittagong, as protesters blocked some of the country's main highways.

What triggered the protests?

Protests erupted two weeks ago on university campuses as students demonstrated against civil service hiring policies. 

They want an end to a quota system that reserves more than half of civil service posts for specific groups, including children of veterans from the country's 1971 liberation war against Pakistan, women, people in the impoverished districts, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

Critics say the system benefits children of pro-government groups that support Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote with no real opposition.

Earlier this month, a Supreme Court bench ordered the reintroduction of job quotas, which were scrapped in 2018 in the face of massive student protests.

However, an appeals court ordered a status quo on job quotas until early next month. The protesters called on the government to resolve the issue once and for all.

How is the world reacting to the protests?

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the Bangladesh government "to protect the demonstrators against any form of threat or violence," according to his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

"It is a fundamental human right to be able to demonstrate peacefully and government should protect those rights," Guterres said, according to the spokesman.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International urged Bangladesh to "immediately guarantee the safety of all peaceful protesters."

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller also condemned the "violence against peaceful protesters," prompting a rebuke from Bangladesh's foreign ministry.