Students protest: Bangladesh cancels all higher secondary school, equivalent exams in 2024

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladesh on Tuesday announced that all higher secondary school and equivalent exams scheduled for 2024 are canceled hours after hundreds of students stormed the Secretarial, a compound housing federal government offices in the capital Dhaka.

The higher secondary school exams were suspended in the middle of the mass uprising that resulted in the fall of the Awami League government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Tapan Kumar Sarkar, head of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, announced the decision at a press conference held at the Secretariat on Tuesday afternoon.

He said a decision on the results process would be made later.

This is the first time in South Asian nation's history that such public examinations have been canceled midway through the schedule. This year, approximately 1.4 million students across the country were taking the exams.

Earlier on Tuesday, several hundred students stormed the Secretariat, demanding that the remaining exams be canceled and the results be released through subject mapping.

The students forced their way through police barriers at the gate near Zero Point to enter the Secretariat at around 2:00 p.m. local time (0800GMT).

Due to the quota reform movement in government jobs, as well as the student and public uprising, the higher secondary school and equivalent exams were repeatedly postponed.

The exam originally scheduled for July 18 was first delayed, followed by postponements of the exams for July 21, 23, and 25. Furthermore, exams from July 28 to Aug. 1 were suspended.

The exams were later rescheduled to begin on Aug. 11. However, sources in the Education Ministry later confirmed to Anadolu that the exams would not take place on that date.

According to a source in the Education Board, the postponement was due to damage to question paper trunks in police stations during attacks in various areas following former Premier Hasina's resignation and departure.

Consequently, the decision to begin exams on Aug. 11 was deferred. Ultimately, the Education Board proposed to the interim government to reschedule the postponed exams to begin on Sept. 11, which was approved.

Following student demands, a decision was made this week to conduct the remaining exams with half the questions in a question-and-answer format.

Hundreds of students, however, rejected the decision and protested at the Secretariat.

Under pressure from the protests, the authority eventually canceled all higher secondary school and equivalent exams.