Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday put the blame squarely on the Opposition BNP and Jamaat for the decline in the pass percentage rate in the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations. The overall pass rate has dropped by 4.37 per cent compared to last year. “The BNP and Jamaat-Shibir must accept responsibility for this,” she said after receiving the results from minister for education Nurul Islam Nahid.
The education minister handed over a copy of the results to the Prime Minister at around 10 am at her official residence Ganobhaban. “We had requested them (BNP and Jamaat-Shibir) repeatedly not to call hartal during the exams. But they did not heed our appeal,”
she said.
The PM said as many as 32 HSC exam dates had to be changed due to strikes. “The exam date of the English second paper was changed four times. Finally, it was held at the end of all other exams, whereas it was scheduled in the first phase. The frequent change of dates affected the examinees and put pressure on them,” she said.
The Prime Minister said the Opposition parties never bothered about educational institutions and the future of students. “That is why they kept calling hartal during the SSC and HSC exams,” she added.
“The BNP and Jamaat-Shibir are answerable to the nation for spoiling the students’ future. Can anyone say what they have achieved by calling hartal during exams,” she asked.
Hasina said the present government always gave top priority to education and formulated a policy that is acceptable by all.
She congratulated the examinees, teachers and guardians for their hard labour, even though there was a drop in the number of successful examinees. She thanked the teachers and those concerned for publishing the results within the stipulated time despite several strikes. Terming education as the tool for alleviating poverty, the Prime Minister said her government wanted to ensure education for all. She added that her government had given special emphasis on technical education to create job opportunities and made religious education compulsory for all.
of Jessore through video conference, Hasina said her government has kept the promise of making “Digital Bangladesh” a reality.
Now, students even in rural areas need not go to the upazila and district headquarters for their results as they could have it through a simple SMS from the mobile phone, she added. Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid, education secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury and the PM’s press secretary, Abul Kalam Azad, were present on the occasion.
Chairmen of all education boards handed over the results to the Prime Minister who published the results of the ten boards online by pressing a computer button.
-With The Independent input
