Bangladesh Supreme Court Scraps Controversial Government Job Quotas Amid Protests

Bangladesh's Supreme Court has annulled most of the government job quotas that led to deadly student protests. The decision overturns a lower court ruling that had reinstated the quotas, moving to a merit-based system for 93% of such jobs. The ruling comes after the government had initially scrapped the quotas in 2018.

Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Sunday annulled most of the quotas on government jobs that incited student-led protests, resulting in at least 114 fatalities, according to local media reports. The court's Appellate Division dismissed a lower court's order, thereby mandating that 93% of government jobs be allocated on merit without quotas.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's administration had initially abolished the quota system in 2018. However, the quotas were reinstated last month by a lower court, which subsequently triggered the protests and a severe government crackdown.