Students march from Science Lab to Parliament

Agitating students have set off from the Science Lab intersection in the capital with a procession towards the Parliament building, making three demands regarding the HSC exam.

On Tuesday (July 14), they lifted the blockade of the Science Lab around 5:20 pm and started their journey towards the Parliament.

Earlier, students blockaded the Science Lab intersection for the second time around 3:45 pm. The blockade stopped traffic on Mirpur Road for about an hour and a half. Later, the students marched towards the Parliament building with a procession.

The three-point demands of the protesting students include the resignation of the Education Minister by 6 pm and an apology for the statement made to the students, reorganizing the HSC exam held on July 13 for all examinees, and postponing the HSC and equivalent exams on July 15 and publishing a new routine, as well as ensuring student-friendly question papers.

In the morning, the students first blockaded the Science Lab intersection. Later, when they were moving towards Dhaka University, they were stopped by the police in the VC Chattar area. From there, they protested in front of the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board in Bakshibazar. There, slogans were raised demanding the resignation of the education minister, and at one stage, bricks were thrown and the gate was pushed.

Later, the protesters returned to the Science Lab intersection and held a second round of blockades. The protesters alleged that the police prevented them from going to different places to raise their demands and some students were injured.

Meanwhile, during the question and answer session in the National Parliament, Education Minister Dr. ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon urged students to return to classes and studies. He said that the candidates will get full marks due to the error in the physics exam question. If necessary, the exam will be re-conducted only in those centers where there were real problems.

In addition to the capital, students have been protesting and blocking roads over the HSC exam on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Uttara and in various districts of the country including Barisal, Cumilla, Mymensingh and Bogura.