Students, parents demand end to lottery-based school admissions

Students and parents staged a human chain in Mymensingh on Tuesday, demanding an end to the lottery-based admission system at government schools and the introduction of entrance examinations.

The protest was held in the morning at Firoz-Jahangir Chattar in the city, with students and parents from several government schools taking part.

Speakers said the lottery system provides no opportunity to assess students’ merit and academic qualifications. As a result, they said, many meritorious students are being denied admission to their preferred government schools.

They demanded that the lottery system be scrapped and that students be admitted through competitive examinations based on merit and qualifications.

The protesters also called on the authorities concerned to take immediate steps to establish a transparent and competitive admission process for government schools.