Abolishing quotas for 1st, 2nd class jobs recommended

The committee formed to evaluate the quota system has recommended for abolishing the existing quota in the first and second class government jobs.

If the cabinet gives approval to the recommendation in a cabinet meeting next month, the gazette will be issued, Cabinet Secretary M Shafiul Alam told journalists at the Secretariat in Dhaka today.

On August 13, the cabinet secretary said that they had suggested abolishment of almost all quotas in civil service and to prioritise merit-based recruitment.

At present, about 56 per cent of government jobs are reserved for candidates from various quotas.

The recommendations have been sent to the prime minister today, said M Shafiul Alam who led the seven-member committee formed on July 2.

According to the recommendations, no quota system will exist from grades 9 to 13 in the primary stage of government job recruitment, he added.

The prime minister will formally approve the recommendations through the Ministry of Public Administration, M Shafiul Alam said.

Later, it will be submitted before the cabinet in the first week of next month, he added.

In April, students of public and private universities across the country took to the streets demanding reforms in the quota system. They blocked key points in the capital and roads and highways elsewhere.

In the wake of mass protests, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 11 announced in parliament scrapping of the quota systems.

On July 2, the government formed a seven-member committee to “review, reform or cancel” the quota system and it was asked to submit a report within 15 workings days. On July 19, the committee was given 90 working days as it could not finish collecting information about the system.

However, the premier on July 12 citing a High Court order said it was not possible to reform the freedom fighters' quota. 

Source: thedailysta