Dhaka, July 4 -- Students across Bangladesh erupted in mass protest on Thursday after the Supreme Court's Appellate Division upheld a High Court verdict reinstating the quota system in government jobs, rejecting an appeal from the state that had sought to preserve the 2018 circular abolishing it.

Braving heavy monsoon rain, students from universities and colleges in Dhaka and beyond poured into the streets, staging sit-ins, blocking highways, and rallying under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.

The protests, marked by anger and defiance, swept across major campuses and highways, with demonstrators declaring that the ruling amounted to a betrayal of the youth's demand for merit-based opportunities.

In Dhaka, thousa...