Wrapping up the last-minute preparations for the exam scheduled for on Saturday, Sadman Sakibuzzaman Tahsin, a student of class II at Birshreshtha Munshi Abdur Rouf Public School and College went to his bed around 9:30pm on Friday.
Howeverafter waking up on Saturday morning he was surprised to see his father not pushing him to get ready for school, which is a rare scenario for Sadman.
Puzzled, Sadman asked when they would go to school. His father replied he did not have to go to school that day as the exam had been postponed.
After waking up on Saturday morning the children across the city came to know that, the exams they had prepared for have been cancelled because of the BNP-led 18-party alliance sponsored 72-hour nationwide blockade programme.
Some guardians even took their children to school, as they were not sure if the examinations were taking place or not. A number of them rushed to the schools early in the morning to find out if the exams were being held.
Many of them said sometimes schools do conduct examinations during blockade. This gave birth to the whole plot of confusion.
“Sometimes schools conduct examinations during blockade and sometimes they do not. This is a difficult situation for us as we dangle in confusion. We become worried thinking that if the exams are going to take place the next day or not,” said Aminul Islam, guardian of a student of Government Laboratory High School.
Mostafizur Rahman, guardian of a student of Monipur High School and College, told the Dhaka Tribune that his son missed one examination as he thought that the examination would not take place during the blockade. The next day he came to learn that the exam did take place.
Religious Studies was on schedule on Saturday under the Primary School Certificate (PSC) examination. The examinees came to learn in the morning that the exam had been postponed.
This was the second time that the Religious Studies examination was postponed.
The Primary and Mass Education Ministry on Friday had to make a sudden decision to shift the exam to next Friday because of the blockade programme.
“This was (Religious Studies) the last examination on our schedule but now we have to wait one more week for the exam to end. I had made lot of plans to do after the exam, including visiting my grandmother. But those seem to become uncertain now,” said Shamia Akhter, a PSC examinee from Viqarunnisa Noon School and College.
Farhad Hossain, principal of Monipur High School and College told the Dhaka Tribune that they were holding the annual examinations even during the blockade.
“During the last blockade programme, we have conducted exams and we have planned to do so in the next spate of the blockade as we see no other option,” he said.