Govt may hold re-exams for flood-hit HSC examinees: Education Minister

Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon on Tuesday said 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.

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.

Milon said the government remained deeply concerned about the examinations and was determined to ensure that no student was deprived of their right to sit for the tests due to natural disasters.

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 told Parliament.

The minister urged students to continue their studies, assuring them that the government was equally concerned about ensuring the smooth completion of examinations despite the challenges posed by floods.

He reiterated that provisions were in place to hold re-examinations wherever administrative errors or other shortcomings prevented candidates from taking their tests.