Police baton-charged job seekers who were protesting in Shahbagh, Dhaka, demanding reinstatement of their canceled recruitment for assistant teacher positions in government primary schools.

The incident took place on Monday afternoon in front of the National Museum, where police also used water cannons and forcibly removed protesters from the road.

The demonstrators claimed that the court’s verdict canceling their recruitment was “discriminatory.” They argued that the current government had initially recommended their appointments, only to have them revoked later.

“We will not leave until our demands are met,” said protester Sabbir Sadeq.

The protest follows last Thursday’s High Court ruling, which annulled the recruitment of 6,531 candidates selected under the quota system for teaching positions in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions. The court also directed authorities to publish a new merit-based results list.

Earlier, in response to a writ petition, the High Court had issued an order on November 19, suspending the recruitment process for six months. This led to the halting of appointments for 6,531 candidates. The final verdict on Thursday confirmed the cancellation.

In light of the ruling, the affected candidates gathered in Shahbagh on Monday afternoon to demand reinstatement.

Speaking to BDNews24, protester Talukder Pias said, “The court canceled our recruitment even after we had been selected. We have blocked Shahbagh to demand our rightful appointments.”

The protesters vowed to continue their demonstration until their demands were met.

Source: Bdnews24.com