DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh on Wednesday abolished a controversial quota system for civil service jobs that had been the target of major street protests that paralyzed parts of the country earlier this year. ADVERTISEMENTCabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said quotas set aside for top-tier public service positions would be scrapped entirely, but some reservations for lower-level positions would remain. Recruitment for the most sought-after jobs would be determined by examination only, he said, adding a government decree to that effect would be issued later in the week. The contentious quota scheme was the subject of enormous rallies in April that brought Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority democracy of 160 million, to a standstill and saw more than 100 injured. Protesters also wanted to reduce the quota for ethnic minorities to 10 percent of government jobs.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 03, 2018 11:15 UTC