United News of Bangladesh

A section of  HSC examinees again blocked a major road in Dhaka's Uttara area on Wednesday demanding resignation of the Education Minister and implementation of a six-point demand. The protesters occupied the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in front of the BNS Center shortly after completing their examinations, halting vehicular movement on the main road connecting Uttara with other parts of the capital. Assistant Commissioner Mahbubur Rahman of the Uttara East Zone under the Uttara Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Traffic Police said the students took to the road at around 1:15 pm after their examinations. "They are at the same place where they stayed yesterday, in front of BNS Center. Vehicular movement on both sides of the road has remained suspended because of their presence," he said. Hundreds of vehicles were seen stranded on the Tongi-bound flyover, while traffic congestion spread to adjacent roads. Only a limited number of motorbikes and ambulances are being allowed to pass through one side of the road. Law enforcement personnel were deployed in and around the area to maintain order. Additional police members remained on duty, while a water cannon was kept ready to deal with any untoward situation, said police. The protesters said their demand for the resignation of the Education Minister remained unchanged.

Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon on Wednesday announced that HSC examinees who were unable to attend examinations due to adverse weather or other unavoidable reasons will be allowed to sit for the missed papers. Making a statement in Parliament under Rule 300, the minister said the special arrangement has been made considering the importance of the HSC examination in students' academic lives. He said a total of 12, 70,583 candidates are taking the HSC and equivalent examinations this year at 2,697 examination centres across the country. The minister said examinations have already been postponed in five districts under the Chattogram Education Board- Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban due to heavy rainfall and adverse weather condition. He added that apart from tChattogram Education Board, some candidates in Dhaka and several other districts were also unable to sit scheduled examinations because of inclement weather and various unavoidable circumstances. "Candidates who could not participate in any subject of the ongoing HSC and equivalent examinations due to adverse weather or other unavoidable reasons will be allowed to sit those examinations on the same date and at the same time fixed by the Education Ministry for the already postponed examinations under the Chattogram Education Board," the minister told Parliament. He said the examinations would be held using identical question papers for the relevant subjects. The minister also updated Parliament on the controversy surrounding the Physics First Paper examination. He said the officials responsible for preparing the erroneous question paper have already been suspended . Reiterating the government's assurance to examinees, Milon said all candidates would receive full marks for Questions 6 and 7 of the Physics First Paper, where errors were identified. He said the government remained committed to ensuring that no student would be affected because of mistakes in the examination process or circumstances beyond their control.  

Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon on Tuesday said the government may arrange re-examinations if Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinees were unable to sit their exams due to flood 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 replying to a supplementary question from Jamaat-e-Islami MP Md Shafiqul Islam, elected from Patuakhali 2 in Parliament. He said the Education Ministry has been maintaining continuous monitoring of examination centres across the country throughout the monsoon season. The minister said whenever floodwater entered an examination centre, local administrations were instructed to shift the venue immediately to ensure that candidates could take their exams without disruption. "So far, only one college, Cumilla Government College, has presented a significant challenge after its grounds were inundated," the minister said, adding that in a handful of other cases where water entered examination centres authorities promptly relocated the venues and ensured that students received the necessary facilities. Milon said the government remains deeply concerned about the examinations and is determined to ensure that no student is deprived because of the natural disaster. He said if any student was unable to sit an examination due to administrative shortcomings after floodwater entered an educational institution, the government would review the matter and could arrange a re-examination if necessary. "We have already adopted such a measure under the Chattogram Education Board and that option remains available," he told Parliament. The minister urged students to return to their studies, assuring them that the government was even more concerned than they were about conducting the examinations properly despite the disaster. He reiterated that provisions exist to hold re-examinations wherever mistakes or shortcomings prevented candidates from taking their tests.

Overgrowth of water hyacinth in Kaptai Lake has been hampering water transport operation in Rangamati. Movement of trawlers and boats is being disrupted due to overgrowth of water hyacinth in many parts of the lake in Kaptai upazila, Shahid Shamsuddin Ghat, and Kengrachari of Bilaichari upazila in Rangamati. Students and HSC candidates living around Kaptai Lake are suffering the most. Especially, HSC examinees are often not reaching exam centre on time as commute through the lake is taking much longer. Visiting the area this week, this UNB correspondent found a large swathe of the scenic Kaptai Lake covered with water hyacinth. Seen from a distance, one could mistake this as a lush, green field. Also read: Speedboats collision in Kaptai lake: Bodies of 2 missing students recovered HSC candidates Anand Tanchangya, Subir Chakma and Minti Chakma said water hyacinth has accumulated in the lake like every year. It takes three hours to reach a destination that used to take about three minutes before, they complained. Ujjal Das, another HSC candidate, said it is difficult to reach the exam centres on time. If authorities don’t take measures to remove water hyacinth from the lake immediately, local HSC candidates’ commute woes will continue. Boatman Shah Alam said, “Overgrowth of water hyacinth spells trouble for us too, causing engine fan to break often.” Also read: 7 injured, 2 missing after collision between two water vehicles in Kaptai Lake Over the last week, water hyacinth accumulated at the upstream jetty gate. As a result, it takes two to three hours, by boat, to reach the jetty from the island area, which normally takes two to three minutes. The unabated growth of the invasive aquatic plant is not only hampering operation of water transport but also threatening fish and marine resources – polluting Kaptai Lake’s water as well.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has requested the HSC examinees to leave homes early on Wednesday to arrive early at exam centres. DMP  has imposed restrictions on many roads in different parts of the city for ensuring the safe movement of the guests who are scheduled to come to Bangladesh on Wednesday. DMP Commissioner Shafiqul Islam said this at a press briefing over the law-and-order situation, held at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangshad Bhaban on Tuesday. Read: 54 arrested in DMP’s anti-narcotics drives Indian President Ram Nath Kovind will attend the Victory Day celebrations here on December 16 apart from his other key engagements. President Kovind will be visiting Bangladesh at the invitation of his Bangladesh counterpart Abdul Hamid. “Vehicular movements will be restricted on many roads on Wednesday due to the arrival of the Indian President. So, HSC examinees have been requested to leave their homes early. If any HSC examinee will face any trouble to reach their exam centers in time, he/she has been requested to make a phone call to 999 for help. Police will take steps to reach them in their respective exam centers,” he said. Besides, a four-tier security measures have been taken in the city marking the Victory Day and the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he said. All venues will be swept with SB, SSF, Rab and DMP dog squads. Plainclothes police will be deployed in the high-rise buildings adjacent to the Parliament and its surrounding area. Besides, the bomb disposal unit and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) will kept ready for emergency service, he added. Bangladesh is celebrating the Golden Jubilee of its Independence and the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The three-day programme will begin on December 15. The programmes will be arranged maintaining health protocol amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Read:Almost 14,000 people arrested in DMP’s special anti-narcotics drive in 8 months Foreign guests of seven countries will participate in the programme at Parade Square ground. Answering a question about any threat over security, the DMP Commissioner, said “There is no specific threat but we have taken additional security measurers after keeping the global situation and internal issues in mind.” In a query over any possible militant activities, Shafiqul said “The militants are always active and they do not want to lose any scope. So, we have made our plan after keeping it in our mind.”

All coaching centres across the country will remain shut from November 8 to 25 ahead of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations, said Education Minister Dipu Moni on Wednesday. SSC and equivalent examinations for the academic session 2020-21 will begin on November 14, Dipu Moni said at a press briefing at the secretariat. This year the SSC and the HSC examinations could not be held as per schedules due to the Covid-19 pandemic and then the government decided to hold the examinations with shortened syllabuses. Read:SSC exams to begin on Nov 14, HSC on Dec 2 The examinations will be held with short syllabuses on three elective subjects on a group basis. According to the schedule, the SSC and its equivalent examinations will end on November 23. Some 22,27,113 students are expected to take the SSC and equivalent exams this session while last year this number was 20,46,779. The number of candidates has increased by 1,79,334 with a growth rate of 8.76 per cent. About 18,00,998 candidates will sit for the SSC exam under nine general education boards, 3,01,887 for Dakhil exams under Madrasa Education Board and 1,24,228 for vocational exam under Bangladesh Technical Education Board this year, the minister said. Besides, 429 students will take part in the examination from abroad. Some 3,679 centers are set to sit for the SSC exam across the country.

The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka on Friday directed students to complete their registration by July 11 for this year’s Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) exam amid a worrying surge in Covid-19 cases across the country. The form fill-up process will stay open from June 29 to July 11, according to a notice issued by the board on Friday. Also read: HSC, SSC exams to be held on brief syllabuses: Dipu Moni The  notice also instructed colleges not to hold eligibility tests this year and also asked the institutions concerned not to collect any fees for that purpose. Educational institutions across the country have remained shut  since March last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. HSC examinees were evaluated on the basis of their results in JSC and SSC exams last year, a decision which received a mixed reaction. Also read: Strict nationwide lockdown in Bangladesh from Monday as Covid situation worsens Recently on June 13, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni said that  her ministry is making preparations to take SSC and HSC examinations this year with a shortened syllabus. However, the minister also said that the ministry is also considering alternative options in case the covid situation worsens in the country. Read WB approves $191mn credit for Bangladesh’s education sector