JU teachers join students in solidarity rally for quota reform

Representatives from Jahangirnagar University (JU) participated in a mass protest march in Dhaka organised by the anti-discrimination student movement on Sunday. Concurrently, quota protesters at the campus held a solidarity rally to condemn police attacks and legal actions against fellow members of the movement.

With the single demand for quota reform, the march began at 11:30 am in front of the central library and ended with a rally on the Dhaka-Aricha highway near the main gate.

Alongside the students, several teachers participated in the rally to show solidarity with the movement.

Professor Sohel Ahmed from the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department stated, "We teachers and students expect the executive and judicial departments to ensure justice and equality. For the past ten days, students have endured sun, rain, and sweat for a movement focused on the welfare of the state. As a teacher, I sympathise with their logical movement."

He also noted that freedom fighters should be given additional opportunities, as Bangladesh was achieved through the liberation war.

At the rally, Professor Golam Rabbani from the History Department praised the students for their ongoing movement for quota reform, not abolition.

He remarked, "quotas are necessary to uplift marginalised groups but should not create discrimination. The current quota system is making the country talentless. This movement is crucial for the nation's development, not just for job seekers."

Ahsan Labib, a biotechnology and genetic engineering student, called for quota reform to provide opportunities for the talented.

He condemned recent attacks on students and cited historical protests, such as those in 1952 and 1969, where students persisted until their demands were met.

Labib vowed that the protesters would not leave the streets until quota reform is achieved and warned that any countermeasures would only intensify the movement.