A fresh spell of agitation as declared by the leader of opposition on Friday, and the continued bellicose rhetoric being thrown around by opposing political blocs, have cast a shadow over the prospects of the tests and examinations about to take place soon.
Students, their guardians and teachers expressed worries over the development and implored for a shift in political attitudes as the academia rolls into its end-of-year exam season.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Friday threatened a 60-hour nationwide shutdown if the government failed to engage in talks to determine the nature of polls-time government.
The announcement came at a time when some two million examinees of Junior School Certificate (JSC) examination and three million examinees of Primary Terminal Examination (PTE) are taking last-minute preparation for their exams.
The two exams are slated to begin on November 4 and November 20 respectively. In addition, students of secondary and primary schools are also gearing up for their annual examinations beginning in mid-November, while the admission tests in public universities will begin by early next month.
Many students said they were upset with the announcement of shutdowns just preceding their examinations, which they think would hamper their preparations.
“I have several model tests in this week alone and a shutdown now will mean rescheduling them, which is not possible. This is so last minute!” Tamim Hasan, a JSC examine from the Government Laboratory High School, said.
Aminul Islam, whose daughter is sitting for PTE from Viqarunnisa Noon School, told the Dhaka Tribune that he was worried that the political situation might worsen further and jeopardise the whole process of education.
Earlier this year, there were similar problems with holding the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations because of shutdowns enforced by the opposition alliance.
A number of examinations had to be postponed and rescheduled. It so happened that an examination was first postponed and rescheduled because of a shutdown, and then it had to be scheduled again because of another shutdown.
Farhad Hossain, the principal of Monipur School and College, is apprehensive that there would be problems in conducting this year’s annual examinations if the country’s political situation remains unchanged.
“The annual exams in our school are slated for mid-November. But starting or finishing those in time would totally depend on a stable political situation, which seems unlikely at this moment.”
He urged the political parties to reconsider their tough stance on the key issues of contention in the greater interests of the students, and to refrain from enforcing strikes and shutdowns.
Azizul Islam, the president of Bangladesh Teachers’ Association, also called for a political reconsideration and said a lot depends on how political leaders determine their future course of action.
“With a whole array of exams and tests coming in quick succession, any major change or disruption in schedules may jeopardise our yearend academic plan.”
However, education officials are considering alternatives in case things do not pan out as planned. “So far as I can say, we have taken all preparations for holding the exams. But we still have to determine possible ways out in case of a shutdown or two,” said Taslima Begum, the chairwoman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education.
Earlier, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid urged political parties not to call any street programmes that would hamper the preparation of JSC and PTE examinees.
