Police use batons to disperse protesting job seekers in Dhaka's Shahbagh

The protesters say a court ruling revoking their recruitment as assistant teachers in government primary schools is "discriminatory"

Police have cracked down on job seekers staging a sit-in at Dhaka's Shahbagh to protest the cancellation of their recruitment as assistant teachers in government primary schools.

The incident occurred in front of the National Museum on Monday as law enforcers also used water cannons and attempted to forcibly disperse the demonstrators.

The protesters said that the court ruling revoking their recruitment is "discriminatory". They claim the government initially recommended their appointment but later withdrew it.

"We will not leave until our demands are met," said Sabbir Sadeq, a protester.

On Feb 6, the High Court annulled the recruitment results of 6,531 candidates selected under the quota system for government primary school teacher positions in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions. The court ordered that fresh results be published based solely on merit.

The recruitment process had already been suspended for six months following a High Court ruling on Nov 19 in response to a writ petition. As a result, the appointment of the selected candidates was put on hold. On Thursday, the court delivered its final verdict, upholding the cancellation.

In response, the affected job seekers took to the streets at Shahbagh on Monday, demanding the reinstatement of their recruitment.

"Despite being selected, the court later cancelled the recruitment of 6,531 candidates. We have blocked Shahbagh to demand justice," said Talukdar Piyash, another protester.

"Our protest will continue until our demands are met."