"Weather Officials Forecasted No Rain," Says Education Minister in Parliament Explaining Why HSC Exams Continued

Education and Primary & Mass Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon stated in Parliament today that the government decided to proceed with the HSC examinations based on assurances from meteorologists who predicted that the weather would improve and that it would not rain.

The minister was responding to a query from Rumeen Farhana, the independent Member of Parliament representing the Brahmanbaria-2 constituency, during a parliamentary session on Tuesday (July 14).

Addressing the house, Minister Milon described the coordination that took place behind the scenes:

"While monitoring the HSC examinations, we spoke with the district Superintendents of Police (SPs), eight Divisional Commissioners, the chairmen of all education boards, and Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs). We also consulted with the meteorologists. They assured us that it would not rain. We sat and monitored the situation until 5:00 PM the previous day before reaching a consensus based on their weather forecast."

Defending the ministry's crisis management, Milon explained that the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent exams are held simultaneously across approximately 2,700 centers in 64 districts. When severe flooding hit the Chittagong region, the ministry monitored the rainfall closely and progressively shut down examination centers—first in Rangamati and Bandarban, then in Khagrachhari, and eventually suspended the exams for the entire Chittagong Education Board.

The minister also shared an incident from Comilla to highlight the administration's emergency response on the ground:

"This morning, immediately upon waking up, I saw that the grounds of Comilla Government Women’s College were completely submerged. We immediately directed the local Mayor, the Fire Service, the police, and the Deputy Commissioner (DC) to relocate the exam venue. They successfully transported all candidates to the school’s five-story building using boats, ensuring they could sit for their exam safely."

Milon noted that after communicating with DCs and field units across the country, the ministry was informed that no other significant weather-related disruptions had occurred outside of the Comilla center.

Responding to allegations of technical errors in the Physics First Paper, the minister acknowledged that questions 6 and 7 contained mistakes but deflected personal responsibility, citing his brief tenure:

"I have been in this office for only four months. The question moderators were appointed by the previous administration. Moderating a set of question papers is a lengthy process that actually has to begin two years in advance."