HSC students stage demos in different parts of country as education minister calls for calm

Thousands of HSC examinees across the country yesterday staged demonstrations, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon, who came under fire over the decision to continue board examinations despite rains and waterlogging. 

The situation was exacerbated when a recording of a phone call, allegedly by the minister, went viral on social media, where he could be heard calling the students “farm chickens” – a disparaging term usually reserved to mean those who aren’t equipped to deal with difficult situations in everyday life. 

The authenticity of the call could not be immediately verified by Daily Waadaa.

Meanwhile, the student-led protests were seen in Dhaka, Chattogram, Savar, Barishal, Cumilla, Narayanganj, Jashore, Bogura, Mymensingh, Rajshahi and Tangail.

Amid this situation,  Education Minister Milon told Parliament the government may arrange re-examinations for Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) candidates who were unable to sit their exams due to floods or administrative shortcomings.

“These students are our future. Under no circumstances can we deprive them of their rights, and we will not do so,” he said in response to a supplementary question from Jamaat-e-Islami MP Md Shafiqul Islam, elected from Patuakhali-2, in Parliament.

He also urged the protesting HSC examinees to return to their studies.

"I would request the students -- please go back to your studies. We are more concerned than they are about how to conduct the exams properly and how to overcome this crisis. We assure them that wherever irregularities occur in exam centres, we have provisions to hold re-exams," he said.

The minister said the Education Ministry had been closely monitoring examination centres across the country throughout the monsoon season.

He said whenever floodwater entered an examination centre, local administrations were instructed to immediately relocate the venue to ensure candidates could sit their exams without disruption.

“So far, only Cumilla Government College has posed a significant challenge as its grounds have been inundated,” Milon said. 

He added that in a few other cases where water entered examination centres, authorities promptly shifted the venues and ensured necessary facilities for students.

He said if any student failed to appear in an examination because of administrative shortcomings after floodwater entered an educational institution, the government would review the matter and arrange a re-examination if required.

“We have already taken such a step under the Chattogram Education Board, and that option remains open,” he added.

He also apologised for his earlier personal remarks.

"I did not intend to target anyone. If anyone has been hurt, I sincerely apologise."

On question paper discrepancies, he had admitted that two questions for the physics exams were wrong. 

He said they had only four months to prepare for the exams, whereas exam moderators usually get two-years' time. 

“We couldn’t prepare any questions. The previous government’s moderator prepared the questions,” he said, adding full marks would be awarded for the two questions, 6 and 7.  

Students block Science Lab in capital

Students, including Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinees, blocked the Science Lab intersection in Dhaka on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of the Education Minister over what they described as mismanagement during the HSC test.

Approximately 200 students from nearby colleges occupied the intersection around 11:30am, bringing traffic to a standstill, according to a Daily Waadaa correspondent at the scene.

Police were deployed to the area as the demonstration continued.

During the protest, students chanted slogans calling for the resignation of Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon. 

They accused Milon of failing to consider the hardships faced by examinees, who had to travel to examination centres amid heavy monsoon rains and severe waterlogging.

The protesters cleared the intersection at around 12:30 p.m. before marching toward the Ministry of Education's Shikkha Bhaban to continue their demonstration.

They returned again around 4:30pm to continue demonstrations.

At one point, the protests also reached near Sangsad Bhaban, where students again clashed with police. 

Another group of HSC examinees blocked the ECB Chattar intersection in Mirpur at around 4:00pm.

Protests were also seen in the Dhaka University area and in Uttara. 

A group of protesters in Uttara announced a "March to the education ministry" programme for today.

Meanwhile in Chattogram, protesters broke the main gate of the Chattogram Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board after a meeting with board officials over their seven-point charter of demands.