Anti-Discrimination Student Movement Intensifies with Nationwide Campaigns

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement conducted coordinated online and offline public outreach programs across the country on Friday, July 5, based on their four-point demands regarding the abolition of the quota system in government jobs.

On the previous day, Thursday (July 4), Nahid Islam, a key coordinator of the movement, announced a three-day action plan before lifting the blockade at Shahbagh intersection in the capital. He stated, “On Friday, we will carry out public outreach programs, both online and offline, based on our four-point demands, and these will be conducted in a coordinated manner nationwide. On Saturday (July 6), protest marches will be organized from all universities and colleges at 3 PM. On Sunday (July 7), a strike involving the boycott of classes and examinations will be observed in all higher educational institutions.”

Nahid further emphasized, “Our movement will continue until our demands are met. So far, no communication or assurance has been received from the government or any executive department.” Another coordinator, Hasnat Abdullah, echoed this sentiment, saying, “Our programs will continue on Friday as well, with extensive campaigns centered on our four-point demands, both online and offline. On Saturday, we will hold protest marches, and on Sunday, we will observe a boycott of classes and exams across higher educational institutions. The movement will persist until our demands are fulfilled.” In response to the coordinators’ call, general students have been actively participating in these programs in large numbers. Between July 4 and 5, students from various departments of Dhaka University issued unified statements expressing solidarity with the movement’s call for class and exam boycotts. The movement has garnered widespread support across nearly all universities in the country. The issue has gained significant traction on social media, with coordinators publishing updated lists on Facebook of departments participating in the boycott.

Meanwhile, the Dhaka University-based pro-BNP and Jamaat-leaning teachers’ organization, White Panel, expressed deep concern over the9574the High Court’s ruling declaring parts of the government circular on quota abolition as illegal. In a statement, the organization also extended its support to the ongoing student movement.