Hasina rips into teachers, bureaucrats for siding with quota protesters
Senior Correspondent, bdnews24.com
Published: 2018-07-17 22:00:28.0 BdST Updated: 2018-07-17 22:00:28.0 BdST
She says the BNP leaders’ comments on the protests by students demanding reforms to the quota provision in government jobs do not influence her.
But it is ‘painful to see the teachers doing the same mistake’, she remarked at a programme at the Ganabhaban on Tuesday.
“They (teachers) forget about the verdicts of the High Court, Appellate Division while discussing the issue and making comments on it,”
“I don’t mind when the BNP says something because they are expert in telling a lie no matter how big barristers they are. No-one cares about what they say,” Hasina said.
“But how do the educated people of our society, who are teachers, make such a mistake! I had said that the Appellate Division had ordered filling up the vacant quota posts from candidates on the merit list,” she said.
The quota system allows the government to preserve 56 percent posts in public jobs for different quotas. These quotas include 30 percent for families of freedom fighters, 10 percent for women, 10 percent for particular districts, 5 percent for small ethnic groups, and 1 percent for people with disabilities.
Students and jobseekers have been protesting against the system, demanding that the total posts preserved for different quotas be brought down to 10 percent.
The protests peaked when they clashed with police and Bangladesh Chhatra League activists on the Dhaka University campus in April.
The protests halted when the prime minister told parliament on Apr 11 that she would rather have the quota system abolished than see students create chaos, miss classes and cause public suffering.
But last Thursday, she ruled out abolishing the quota reserved for freedom fighters’ families in government jobs, citing a High Court verdict in support of her position on the quota issue.
A committee was recently formed to review the quota system in government jobs following Hasina’s comments in parliament in April as the protests continued for a gazette notification clarifying the abolishment of quotas.
Demonstrations continued also for release of the protesters arrested on charges of violence during protests and defaming Hasina on the social media.
A group of Dhaka University teachers and students came under attack allegedly by Bangladesh Chhatra League activists during demonstrations for release of the protesters on Sunday.
The teachers on Tuesday announced a series of programmes protesting against the assault.
Hasina, speaking at the Ganabhaan event, said, “I am pained when I see our learned university teachers and retired bureaucrats speak against quota.”
“They never say how mischievous it is to attack the VC’s house in the name of protests.”
“I feel more pain when I see that they don’t know about the Appellate Division directives,” she said.
The High Court in a verdict had ordered keeping quotas in government jobs and keeping the positions under quota vacant if no suitable candidate applies.
But the Appellate Division reviewed the verdict and asked for filling the vacant posts from candidates on the merit list, according to Hasina.
Senior Correspondent, bdnews24.com
Published: 2018-07-17 22:00:28.0 BdST Updated: 2018-07-17 22:00:28.0 BdST
She says the BNP leaders’ comments on the protests by students demanding reforms to the quota provision in government jobs do not influence her.
But it is ‘painful to see the teachers doing the same mistake’, she remarked at a programme at the Ganabhaban on Tuesday.
“They (teachers) forget about the verdicts of the High Court, Appellate Division while discussing the issue and making comments on it,”
“I don’t mind when the BNP says something because they are expert in telling a lie no matter how big barristers they are. No-one cares about what they say,” Hasina said.
“But how do the educated people of our society, who are teachers, make such a mistake! I had said that the Appellate Division had ordered filling up the vacant quota posts from candidates on the merit list,” she said.
The quota system allows the government to preserve 56 percent posts in public jobs for different quotas. These quotas include 30 percent for families of freedom fighters, 10 percent for women, 10 percent for particular districts, 5 percent for small ethnic groups, and 1 percent for people with disabilities.
Students and jobseekers have been protesting against the system, demanding that the total posts preserved for different quotas be brought down to 10 percent.
The protests peaked when they clashed with police and Bangladesh Chhatra League activists on the Dhaka University campus in April.
The protests halted when the prime minister told parliament on Apr 11 that she would rather have the quota system abolished than see students create chaos, miss classes and cause public suffering.
But last Thursday, she ruled out abolishing the quota reserved for freedom fighters’ families in government jobs, citing a High Court verdict in support of her position on the quota issue.
A committee was recently formed to review the quota system in government jobs following Hasina’s comments in parliament in April as the protests continued for a gazette notification clarifying the abolishment of quotas.
Demonstrations continued also for release of the protesters arrested on charges of violence during protests and defaming Hasina on the social media.
A group of Dhaka University teachers and students came under attack allegedly by Bangladesh Chhatra League activists during demonstrations for release of the protesters on Sunday.
The teachers on Tuesday announced a series of programmes protesting against the assault.
Hasina, speaking at the Ganabhaan event, said, “I am pained when I see our learned university teachers and retired bureaucrats speak against quota.”
“They never say how mischievous it is to attack the VC’s house in the name of protests.”
“I feel more pain when I see that they don’t know about the Appellate Division directives,” she said.
The High Court in a verdict had ordered keeping quotas in government jobs and keeping the positions under quota vacant if no suitable candidate applies.
But the Appellate Division reviewed the verdict and asked for filling the vacant posts from candidates on the merit list, according to Hasina.
