As a Bangladeshi, I would like to share insights regarding the injustices incurred owing to the quota system in my country. It is impossible to understand how terrible the entire quota system has been without being a job seeker in Bangladesh. It is also not possible to understand the issue without understanding who the beneficiaries of this quota are.
I know at least three fake ‘freedom fighters’ in my area whose sons and daughters (at least seven people) have been provided jobs under this quota. ‘Freedom fighters’ also enjoy various facilities. Even though one of the beneficiaries was at least 20 years younger than my father, he acquired the status of a ‘certified’ freedom fighter by greasing the right palms. We are four brothers, and three of us, along with our wives, are among the 4.2 million unemployed. This is despite the fact that all of us are university graduates.
Moreover, the so-called ‘freedom fighter commander’ of my area had for long been a ‘fake’ character. He took jobs under the quota, and also managed to get first class employment for a number of boys and girls. He died a few years ago after selling freedom fighter ‘certificates’. His worth at the time of death was over one billion takas. There are thousands of such cases in Bangladesh. A boy or girl, who does not qualify for a good school, college or university, still gets a chance to study there because of the monster called ‘quota’.
To get a chance in Dhaka University’s Business faculty, I had to compete with over 300,000 students. Only about 10,000 qualified against about 850 seats. I remember that a student placed 866th on the merit list could not get admission. However, the sad thing is that a boy I know secured the 5000th place on the same list, but still got admission owing to the quota he was a beneficiary of. The quota system in Bangladesh has been a rather long tale of sheer brutality and misery.
MASTAFA
DHAKA, BANGLADESH
