SM MAHFUJ AHMED

Although Chittagong University (CU) had administratively decided to abolish the ward quota for the 2025–26 academic session, admissions under the quota have ultimately been allowed following a court ruling.

The university admitted one student under the quota in each department, despite no mention of the ward quota in the admission circular or the published merit lists.

According to university sources, the decision to scrap the ward quota was taken at the second meeting of the university’s admission test committee for the 2025–26 session. However, following subsequent court directives, admissions under the quota were reinstated.

A section of CU teachers, officers, and staff later filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking to retain the quota.

Following a preliminary hearing on December 15, 2025, a High Court bench comprising Justice Sikder Mahmudur Razi and Justice Raziuddin Ahmed issued a rule asking the university vice-chancellor and the relevant admission committee to explain their decision.

After the final hearing, another bench comprising Justice Shashanka Shekhar Sarkar and Justice Umme Rahman delivered its verdict on February 25, 2026.

The court ordered the university to implement the previously issued rule.

The rule stated that the ward quota for children and spouses of university employees had long been recognised as an established benefit for first-year undergraduate admissions, which the court considered with due importance.

In a letter signed by 18 teachers and 84 officers and staff members on behalf of the Chittagong University Employees’ Unity Council, it was stated that the quota should be implemented “in the same way it has continued for generations,” noting that the High Court had also directed its continuation.

The letter further said that at the seventh meeting of the admission committee held on March 31, 2026, the university decided to implement the ward quota in compliance with the court order. It also demanded the reinstatement of the previous 166 seats allocated under the quota.

CU Registrar Prof Dr Saiful Islam said admissions had been conducted in line with the High Court’s directive. “The court asked us to maintain the long-standing practice. Although there was scope to admit 166 students under the quota, we limited it to 54, equivalent to the number admitted in the previous academic year,” he said.

CU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Al-Forkan acknowledged that the admission circular did not mention the ward quota, despite admissions being conducted under it. “Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic) Prof Shamim Uddin will be able to explain the matter in detail,” he said.

Prof Shamim Uddin said the university administration had initially abolished the quota, but the court later directed the university to revert to the previous system following petitions filed by a section of teachers, officers, and staff.

“As all admission-related activities had already been completed before the verdict was delivered, it was not possible to include the quota in the admission circular. Later, an academic meeting decided to admit one student from each department under the quota,” he said.

Regarding the publication of the list of admitted students, he said the process was still underway and the list would be published after all admissions were completed.

Students at CU had launched protests demanding the abolition of the ward quota on December 29, 2024. Their programmes included human chains, discussion meetings, sit-ins, and locking the university’s main gate. In response to the protests, the university formed a seven-member committee to review the quota system.

For the 2024–25 academic session, the university decided to admit one student per department under the quota, with plans to abolish it entirely from the 2025–26 session. However, the latest court ruling has effectively reversed that decision.