Bangladesh universities urged to close after 6 die in protests

Protests erupt over allocation of government jobs; University Grants Commission asks all public and private universities to suspend classes and empty their dormitories to protect students

Dhaka: Authorities in Bangladesh urged all universities to close on Wednesday, after at least six people died in violent protests over the allocation of government jobs.

Some universities quickly moved to comply, but others, including Dhaka University at the centre of the protests, were still deciding how to respond.

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The country’s universities are run autonomously and the request from the University Grants Commission did not have legal force.

The University Grants Commission asked all public and private universities to suspend classes and empty their dormitories until further notice, in order to protect students.

The country’s universities are run autonomously and the request did not have legal force.

Authorities said that at least six people were killed on Tuesday in violence across the country as student protesters clashed with pro-government student activists and with police, and violence was reported around the capital of Dhaka, the southeastern city of Chattogram and the northern city of Rangpur.