Dhaka, Feb. 5 -- The Jahangirnagar University administration has announced that it is scrapping ward quotas in admissions in the face of student protests.

Vice-Chancellor Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan announced the cancellation of the ward quotas in the presence of student protesters in front of the university's registrar building around midnight on Tuesday.

He said that the decision to "completely cancel" the quota was taken in an emergency meeting of the university's central admissions and test management committee.

"Students have been protesting for the past few days demanding the cancellation of the university's ward quota," he said. "In light of their demands, we spoke with the leaders of the [university's] officials and employees today. ...