Police have foiled an attempt by HSC examinees to enter the Secretariat as they pressed their demand for the education minister’s resignation.
On Wednesday afternoon, the students left their position at the Science Lab intersection in the capital and reached the Secretariat.
When they tried to enter, police blocked them with a barricade, and the students then staged a sit-in on the spot. A large number of police were deployed across the area to prevent any untoward incident, and water cannon was kept on standby.
Meanwhile, HSC students again blocked a road in the capital’s Uttara over the same demand. After 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, students from various colleges blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and began protesting. Beyond the capital, students were also protesting over the same demand in several districts. Students had blocked roads the previous day, on Tuesday, before leaving with an ultimatum for the minister’s resignation by Tuesday night and an announcement of a “March to the Education Ministry” programme. They protested again on Wednesday afternoon over the resignation demand, and also blocked the Science Laboratory area of the capital.
On Tuesday, protesters had demonstrated in the Dhaka University campus area over the same demand and at one point came face to face with police, prompting the deployment of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on campus. Later that evening, Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon expressed regret in the parliament session for remarks he had made about the students.
Several days of rain have caused floods and waterlogging in Dhaka and other parts of the country. In this situation, all exams under the Chattogram board have been postponed until Thursday, though exams under the other boards are continuing as usual. Students had requested that the ongoing HSC exams be pushed back for a few days because of the bad weather.
Heavy rain on Monday caused severe waterlogging in Dhaka and other areas, leaving examinees in extreme difficulty — and it was largely after this that criticism of the education minister began.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report