RU students end hunger strike as authorities assure removing ward quota

Seven students of Rajshahi University (RU) broke their hunger strike at noon on Friday, 18 hours after starting it. The hunger strike began with the demand to remove the ward quota from this year’s undergraduate admission.
Students started their strike at 6:00pm on Thursday as the university initially retained the 3 percent quota for wards of university teachers, officials and employees.
Amanullah Khan, one of those who participated in the hunger strike, said, “We were their under the sky for the entirety of Thursday night. We are determined to abolish the ward quota. Students find this quota unnecessary.”
Later Vice Chancellor Saleh Hasan Naqib, Pro VC Farid Uddin Khan and other officials came and assured the students that they will remove this quota.
Pro VC Farid Uddin Khan said, “We assured students that we will remove the ward quota. We will form a review team to execute this. The review team will give their decision by Sunday or Monday. We will also talk with the stakeholders of this strike meanwhile.”
RU Vice-chancellor Saleh Hasan Naqib said, “We talked with teachers before. Most of them were in favour of keeping the ward quota. But we reduced it from 4 percent to 3 percent. Now we will call a review team as the students are against this ward quota altogether. Students are our first priority.”
Earlier, an RU admission notice notified that there will be no quotas for the grand children of freedom fighters but ward quota will remain.