Despite strong objections from examinees, the government held the HSC exam on July 13 amid continuous rain and waterlogging. The next day, on July 14, students across the country, including Dhaka, protested. At one point, Education Minister Dr. ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon announced in Parliament that the exam would be conducted again on July 13.
According to the minister’s announcement, students who were unable to take the exam on that day will get a special opportunity. They will be able to take the HSC Physics, Accounting, and Logic first paper exams. In addition, if someone has a bad exam due to inclement weather, they will also be able to retake the exam if they want.
After the announcement by the Education Minister, candidates are desperate to know who can take the re-examination; how to apply to sit for the examination and when the examination will be conducted. However, the Education Board says that the application and rules for taking the re-examination have not yet been finalized.
Board officials said that a meeting is scheduled between the Ministry of Education and the Dhaka Board on this issue next week. Detailed instructions will be released after the meeting.
Dhaka Board sources said that the Physics (Theoretical) First Paper, Accounting First Paper and Logic First Paper examinations were held on July 13. Candidates who were absent on that day will be able to take part in the examination with the same question paper on the date fixed by the Ministry of Education. In addition, interested candidates will also get the opportunity to take part in the re-examination with the same question paper with the Chittagong Education Board. However, how to apply in this case has not been decided yet.
Meanwhile, there were mistakes in questions 6 and 7 of the Physics first paper. Therefore, all candidates will get full marks even if they do not answer those two questions. And the issue of giving grace marks of 5 to candidates in Physics, Accounting and Logic is being considered. Although no formal decision has been made on this matter yet.
Professor Syed Akhtaruzzaman is the president of the Bangladesh Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, a coalition of 11 education boards. He is also the chairman of the Dhaka board. Professor Akhtaruzzaman said that action will be taken according to the announcement made by the education minister in parliament regarding the July 13 exam. Now, the ministry’s instructions are awaited.
He said, there is regular communication with the Ministry of Education. A meeting is scheduled to be held early next week. After that, the official decision will be published in the form of a notification. Then, the examinees will get a clear idea about everything.
On the other hand, many candidates are demanding that the Physics Paper 1 be re-examined. Later, the one with the higher marks out of the two exams should be added to the results. However, no formal decision has been made on this matter yet, the board chairman said.
Abdullah Shibli Sadiq, public relations officer at the Ministry of Education, said that a decision will be announced as soon as it is made. Action will be taken keeping in mind the interests of the students.
