![Deadly unrest erupted in Bangladesh after student anger against quotas for government jobs. Photo: EPA PHOTO Deadly unrest erupted in Bangladesh after student anger against quotas for government jobs. Photo: EPA PHOTO](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/eecc8946-762d-4c98-b831-abd6c3b689bd.jpg/r0_0_800_600_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Bangladesh's Supreme Court has scrapped most of the quotas on government jobs that have sparked student-led protests in which at least 114 people have been killed in the South Asian country.
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The court's Appellate Division dismissed a lower court order that had reinstated the quotas, directing that 93 per cent of government jobs will be open to candidates on merit, without quotas, media reports said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government had scrapped the quota system in 2018, but the lower court reinstated it last month, sparking the protests and an ensuing government crackdown.
Streets near the Supreme Court were quiet immediately after Sunday's decision and army teams were deployed throughout the capital Dhaka, a Reuters witness said. A military tank was stationed outside the Supreme Court gate, television footage showed.
Local media had reported scattered clashes earlier in the day between protesters and security forces.
![Sheikh Hasina's government scrapped the quota system in 2018. (AP PHOTO) Sheikh Hasina's government scrapped the quota system in 2018. (AP PHOTO)](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/eb02c5dc-7625-43a1-9001-051c4ede5756.jpg/r0_0_1280_720_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The government had extended a curfew as authorities braced for the Supreme Court hearing on the job quotas. Soldiers were on patrol on the streets of capital Dhaka, the centre of the demonstrations that spiralled into clashes between protesters and security forces.
Internet and text message services in Bangladesh have been suspended since Thursday, cutting the nation off as police cracked down on protesters who defied a ban on public gatherings.
The curfew was extended to 7pm AEST on Sunday and was to continue for an "uncertain time" following a two-hour break for people to gather supplies, local media reported.
Reuters could not immediately determine what would happen to the curfew after the ruling.
The Supreme Court directed the government to cut the job quotas for families of those who fought for independence from Pakistan to five per cent from 30 per cent, local media said. The remaining two per cent of jobs still subject to quotas are for people from so-called backward groups and the disabled, the reports said.
Australian Associated Press