The government has no plan to give automatic promotion to school students without taking annual examinations despite the volatile political situation in the country, as such a move would be unprecedented, the education minister said yesterday.
“Despite hurdles, we are determined to take all annual examinations and the students, guardians and teachers should not have any confusion,” Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told reporters at his secretariat office yesterday.
“I have come to the media to remove confusion among the students and their guardians who phone me know whether the government would give auto-promotion,” Nahid explained.
Terming the ongoing opposition-sponsored shutdown “an act of terrorism”, Nahid lamented that around four crore (40 million) students _ from first graders to university admission seekers _ have been affected.
“We are concerned over the annual examinations in Dhaka, but the examinations outside the capital are about to end,” Nahid said.
The minister said there were around 400 schools in the capital. The new academic year in Bangla-medium schools usually starts from January, and annual exams are held in November-December.
“We are having meetings over holding examinations in 40 of the larger schools,” he said.
The minister also said 24 schools in the capital were already taking annual examinations.
In other schools, exams in two to four subjects were left to be held, Nahid added. Furthermore, school admission tests would be held according to rules, the minister said.
