‘51 Deaths Nationwide, Yet HSC Exams Continued Out of Pure Stubbornness!’

SM Farhad, General Secretary (GS) of the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU), has fiercely criticized the government's handling of the devastating countrywide flood crisis and its rigid stance on continuing the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations despite severe humanitarian distress.

In a statement posted on his official Facebook profile today, Monday (July 13), the DUCSU GS expressed grave concern over the scale of the ongoing natural disaster and the state's response.

"At least 51 people have already lost their lives by drowning in floodwaters across the country. Millions of citizens across five divisions are currently marooned under horrific conditions, living through absolute misery," SM Farhad stated. "In the face of such a monumental national crisis, the government should have ideally declared a state of emergency, mobilizing all state apparatus, law enforcement agencies, and political parties into a unified, national coordinated effort to combat this disaster."

Directly slamming the authorities for keeping the examination schedule unchanged, the student leader remarked, "Instead of focusing effectively on relief and rescue, the government has stubbornly kept the HSC exams running during this extreme crisis! The demeanor of ruling party leaders suggests as if nothing significant has happened in the country. It appears their definition of a major success is simply forcing things to run normally against all odds."

The DUCSU GS also vented deep frustration over the media's coverage of the unfolding flood crisis. "Meanwhile, mainstream media houses are maintaining a completely silent role regarding this national emergency. It seems the loss of 51 human lives and the unspeakable suffering of millions of people do not qualify as a major issue for them," he noted sharply.

Concluding his statement, SM Farhad strongly demanded the immediate suspension of the ongoing HSC examinations and called for exhaustive, state-level interventions to stand beside the flood-affected citizens.