Students stage protests for second day in dists

Students staged second day of protests in Barishal and Joypurhat districts on Wednesday by blocking roads and demanding education minister's resignation over HSC exams, question papers and recent remarks.

BARISHAL: Students staged a road blockade in front of the Barishal Education Board at Nathullabad for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, demanding the suspension of examinations, a review of question standards, and the resignation of the education minister.

Arif Hossain, a student of Government Syed Hatem Ali College in Barishal, said students were forced to sit for examinations despite adverse weather conditions. There was not enough preparation time before difficult subjects, and this year’s question papers were much harder than previous years. Some questions were even outside the prescribed syllabus, he said.

Mojibur Rahman Himel, a student of Government Barishal College, criticised Education Minister A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon for what he described as derogatory remarks about students. 

Officer-in-Charge of Airport Police Station Shakhawat Hossain said principals of several educational institutions and officials from the Barishal Education Board met with the demonstrators and assured them that their demands would be conveyed to the authorities. Despite the assurances, the students continued their blockade, keeping traffic on the highway disrupted for hours.

JOYPURHAT: Students staged demonstrations and blocked a major road in Joypurhat for the second consecutive day yesterday, demanding the resignation of the education minister over the continuation of the HSC examinations, alleged flaws in question paper preparation, and the minister's recent remarks.

Despite adverse weather, several hundred students from Joypurhat Government College, Joypurhat Government Women's College and other educational institutions brought out a procession around 1:30pm, marching through the town's main streets before gathering at the busy Batar Mor intersection.

They blocked the road for nearly an hour, disrupting traffic and leaving long queues of vehicles on both sides, causing inconvenience to commuters.

The protesting students said continuous heavy rainfall, flooding and water-logging in many parts of the country had made it difficult for HSC candidates to reach examination centres safely. They alleged that some examinees had to risk their lives to attend the exams, while others failed to reach their centres on time, leaving them under severe mental stress.

They said repeated calls to postpone the examinations in view of the prevailing weather conditions had gone unheeded.

The students also expressed dissatisfaction over the preparation of some HSC question papers, saying the issue had sparked controversy. They further alleged that recent remarks by the education minister about students had intensified their anger.

During the demonstration, they chanted slogans including, "We want a student-friendly education system," "No exams during disasters," and "Our demands must be met." They reiterated their demand for the minister's resignation and called for prompt action on issues affecting students.

Officials from the district administration, police and the education department later met the protesters and assured them that their demands would be conveyed to the relevant authorities.

Following the assurances, the students withdrew the blockade around 2:30pm, allowing traffic to resume.

Joypurhat Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Nur-e-Alam Siddiqui said the students had carried out the demonstration and road blockade peacefully.