The Jahangirnagar University (JU) administration has decided to abolish the ward quota in response to the demands of protesting students.
JU Vice-Chancellor Dr Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan announced the decision in the early hours of Wednesday following an emergency meeting.
Earlier, the campus had been in turmoil with continuous protests both in favour of and against the ward quota.
On Tuesday morning, university officials and employees staged a protest in front of the administrative building, demanding a full reinstatement of the quota, following JU's decision to revise it.
Meanwhile, protesting students organized a procession from Bottola, marching through various dormitories before gathering in front of the administrative building to demand the complete abolition of the ward quota.
In response, the university officers and employees council announced an indefinite strike to protest the decision.
In this tense situation, the university administration held an emergency meeting in the afternoon, chaired by the VC.
Dr Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan said: “For the past few days, students have been protesting for the abolition of the ward quota. Today, they demonstrated peacefully for almost seven hours.
“Considering their demands, we consulted with representatives of the university's officers and employees. In the discussion, they acknowledged their role as guardians of the students and agreed to abolish the ward quota. Consequently, we made the final decision in an emergency meeting of the central admission committee.”
Upon hearing the announcement, the protesting students expressed their joy.
They said their efforts had paid off and were happy that their movement had been successful.
