Play store
Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon came under sharp criticism in Parliament on Tuesday over the government’s decision to hold the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations amid severe weather, as lawmakers questioned the hardship faced by students, the refusal to postpone the tests and errors found in the Physics examination paper.
Responding to lawmakers during the Jatiya Sangsad session chaired by Deputy Speaker Barrister Kaysar Kamal, the minister said the decision to proceed with the examinations had been taken based on favourable weather forecasts, but the predictions ultimately proved inaccurate.
“We decided to hold the examinations after receiving positive forecasts from the Meteorological Department and reports from field-level authorities. Unfortunately, the weather did not unfold as predicted, creating an unexpected situation,” he said.
Taking part in a supplementary question session, Barrister Rumin Farhana, MP from Brahmanbaria-2, said students had repeatedly appealed for the examinations to be postponed due to adverse weather and had staged demonstrations in Dhaka and elsewhere. She questioned why the government ignored those appeals, particularly for an important subject such as Physics.
The minister said the government had to consider the situation across the country before making any decision, as nearly 2,700 examination centres were operating simultaneously.
He said examinations had already been postponed in Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari because of flooding, while the entire Chattogram Education Board examinations were later suspended.
According to the minister, until the afternoon before the examinations, the government remained in constant communication with police superintendents in all 64 districts, divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, upazila executive officers and chairpersons of all education boards. Officials from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department also indicated that weather conditions would remain favourable.
“Based on all those assessments, the decision to hold the examinations as scheduled was taken around 5:00 pm,” he said.
Replying to another supplementary question from opposition MP Shafiqul Islam Masud, the minister urged students protesting with a three-point demand, including his resignation, to return to their studies.
He said the government had been closely monitoring the examination process from the outset and had already relocated centres affected by floods or waterlogging where necessary.
“If any students have genuinely suffered because of the situation, resolving those issues will not be difficult,” he said, adding that postponed examinations would be rescheduled as sufficient question papers were already available.
He also said any administrative shortcomings would be investigated and, if survey reports justified it, re-examinations could be arranged. Such measures have already been adopted for the Chattogram Education Board, he added.
Referring to the situation in Cumilla, the minister said the grounds of the Cumilla Government Women’s College examination centre had gone underwater on the morning of the examination.
He said local authorities, assisted by the Fire Service, police and the city corporation, transported candidates to the centre by boat. Students whose clothes became soaked were provided with dry clothing, while the examination started one hour later with additional time allowed to ensure that no candidate was disadvantaged.
Addressing concerns over errors in the Physics examination paper, the minister acknowledged that mistakes had been found in Questions 6 and 7.
He said all candidates would receive full marks for those two questions after the errors were identified.
“The question-setting and moderation process began nearly two years ago and had been completed before the current government assumed office. Nevertheless, we took immediate action in the interest of the students,” he said.
The minister also announced that, from the next academic year, the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations are planned to be held in January and the HSC examinations in June to better align the academic calendar with international standards and reduce the loss of instructional time.
He further said the government was planning to establish permanent public examination centres across the country to minimise classroom disruptions during examination periods. A feasibility study for the initiative is currently awaiting approval.
Separately, the minister informed Parliament that long-vacant head teacher positions in government primary schools would soon be filled through promotion. Following the disposal of related legal cases, 80 percent of vacant posts would be filled under the new recruitment rules, he said.