HSC Candidates Block Dhaka Streets, Demand Education Minister's Resignation

Protesting Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent candidates staged simultaneous sit-ins, marched, and blocked major intersections across the capital on Tuesday (July 14), demanding the immediate resignation of Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon. The demonstrators cited extreme physical suffering due to the recent torrential rains, highly questionable evaluation standards, and critical errors in question papers as the driving forces behind their movement.

The protests brought traffic to a complete standstill in several commercial and academic hubs of Dhaka, including Science Laboratory and in front of the BNS Center in Uttara. Similar protests demanding the minister's resignation were also reported from Bogura district.

Holding placards and chanting slogans such as "No politics with education" and "We demand the Education Minister's resignation," the protesters expressed deep frustration over the ministry's apathy. Demonstrators recounted their harrowing experiences of the past few days, describing how they had to wade through knee-deep sludge, navigate heavily waterlogged roads, and even use wooden boats to reach their respective exam halls. The candidates asserted that forcing them to sit for life-defining examinations under such severe physical and psychological trauma was highly unjust.

Students highlighted that despite their repeated pleas to suspend the examinations until the waterlogging recedes and weather conditions become favorable, the ministry completely ignored the ground realities, leaving hundreds of thousands of candidates in jeopardy.

Beyond the environmental hazards, the students raised serious objections regarding the academic quality of the ongoing examinations. They alleged that the Physics First Paper question sheet contained major errors, specifically in questions 6 and 7. While they clarified they do not object to challenging questions, they argued that the evaluations must align with the practical learning environment students were subjected to throughout the academic year.

To address these grievances, the protesting students have presented an eight-point charter of demands to the government, highlighted by several immediate and long-term reforms. Chief among these is the demand for the immediate suspension of all ongoing HSC examinations until floodwaters recede and testing centers become fully accessible. The students are also demanding that the education board publicly apologize for the errors in questions 6 and 7 of the Physics First Paper and grant full compensatory marks to all affected candidates.

Additionally, the charter requires the Education Minister to take responsibility for the administrative failures and apologize to the student-teacher community, while calling for the complete removal of political influence from academic administrations and curriculum planning. Finally, the protesters insist that future evaluation papers must strictly adhere to the designated year-long curriculum without arbitrary structural changes.

The organizers warned that while they are currently pushing for their full charter, failure to address these core issues immediately will leave them with a single, non-negotiable demand: the absolute step-down of Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon.