HSC Exams Will Continue, Confirms Dhaka Board Chairman

Following a comprehensive evaluation of the ongoing countrywide flood and weather conditions, authorities have decided to proceed with the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations across all education boards, with the sole exception of the Chittagong Education Board. The decision was finalized today, Tuesday (July 14), during an emergency virtual conference presided over by Education and Primary & Mass Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon.

Professor Syed Akteruzzaman, Chairman of the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board and President of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Sub-Committee, confirmed the development to The Daily Campus at around 1:30 PM. He stated that the decision to maintain the current examination timeline was made after reviewing field reports from across the nation and consolidating opinions from all stakeholders during the virtual meeting, which commenced at 10:00 AM. Consequently, candidates under all boards—excluding Chittagong—must sit for their remaining papers as per the pre-scheduled framework.

Meanwhile, the decision sparked intense outrage among the student community, translating into major street demonstrations in the capital. Enraged students blocked key thoroughfares at the Science Laboratory intersection and in front of the BNS Center in Uttara. The protesters vehemently demanded the immediate resignation of Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon, explicitly protesting the decision to hold exams under disastrous weather conditions and condemning a controversial remark where candidates were allegedly referred to as "broiler chickens" (Farm er Murgi).

The blockade caused severe traffic gridlocks across major zones. New Market Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Ayub confirmed that students from Dhaka College and various other institutions blocked the Dhanmondi-New Market route at Science Lab around 11:40 AM, completely halting vehicular movement. Simultaneously, Uttara West Police Station Duty Officer Shahin Alam reported that another faction initiated a demonstration in front of the Uttara BNS Center at around 11:45 AM, causing massive traffic congestion extending up to Abdullahpur and forcing hundreds of commuters to travel on foot.

During the blockades, students chanted fierce slogans such as "One Point, One Demand—Resignation of Milon," "Take Responsibility for the Suffering," and "No Exams Amid Floods and Waterlogging," while holding placards denouncing the ministry's rigidness. The students alleged that yesterday's exams exposed hundreds of thousands of candidates to extreme physical and mental trauma as they had to navigate knee-deep water and prolonged traffic jams to reach their respective centers. In response to the growing agitation, a large contingent of law enforcement personnel has been deployed to the protest sites to maintain law and order and avert any untoward incidents.