Bangladesh closes schools and universities after six people die in protests | Protest news

Bangladesh has ordered the indefinite closure of schools and universities across the country after six people were killed in protests against civil service quotas.

All secondary schools, universities and Islamic seminaries have been ordered to remain closed until further notice following increasingly violent demonstrations against public sector recruitment policies in recent weeks.

There was a significant escalation in violence on Tuesday, as protesters and pro-government student groups attacked each other with bricks and bamboo poles and police dispersed rallies with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Education Ministry spokesman MA Khair said the closure order was issued “for the safety of students.”

At least six people were killed on Tuesday as protesters in several cities mobilized for another day, defying earlier calls by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Supreme Court to resume classes.

Three people died in Chittagong and showed signs of gunshot wounds, said Mohammad Taslim Uddin, director of Chittagong Medical College Hospital, adding that another 35 were injured in clashes in the port city.

In the capital Dhaka, two people were killed when rival student groups threw bricks at each other and blocked roads at several key locations, bringing traffic to a standstill.

In the northwestern city of Rangpur, police commissioner Mohammad Moniruzzaman said a student was killed in clashes there.

As the day progressed, protesters blocked several major highways across the country, prompting authorities to deploy the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) force in five major cities, including Dhaka and Chittagong.

The students demanded the abolition of a quota system that reserves more than half of public service jobs for certain groups, including the children of veterans of the 1971 War of Independence against Pakistan.

Critics say the program benefits children of pro-government groups that support Hasina, who won her fourth consecutive election in January.