5% quota for children of fallen and wounded in July uprising

Bangladesh’s interim government has carved out a 5 per cent admission quota in government schools for children of those killed or injured in the July-August 2024 uprising. 

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education rolled out the order on Sunday, March 2, backdated to February 20, directing school headmasters and college principals to make it happen. 

The quota reserves 5 per cent of seats in government secondary schools for two groups: sons and daughters of freedom fighters or martyred freedom fighters and children of those felled or hurt in the July uprising. 

To claim a spot, applicants need a certified copy of a freedom fighter certificate, a martyr’s gazette, or an uprising-related document—originals due at admission time.  

“Verify it right,” the order insists, tasking schools to cross-check credentials against Ministry of Liberation War Affairs records or official uprising gazettes. If no eligible candidates step up, the seats flip to the merit list—no vacancies allowed. “Fill them, no excuses,” the directive hammers home.