SSC exams start today amid fear of political unrest

Over 20 lakh candidates will appear in this year's secondary school certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations across the country today amid fear of disruption in the examination due to political violence.

Political heat is on the forecast ahead of the verdict against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the much-talked Zia Charitable Trust graft case, due on February 8.

On Tuesday, BNP activists already attacked a prison van and snatched two detained party men near High Court area of the capital.

Although BNP is yet to take any decision, it might take to the streets if Khaleda Zia is convicted. If that happens, ruling Awami League, on the other hand, will resist the anarchy, which may lead to a volatile situation, observe some guardians.

Guardians fear that children may have to bear with the crisis similar to those in the recent past especially in 2014 and 2015, when the examinations were rescheduled multiple times.

"We don't want repetition of such a situation anymore. Deferral of an exam puts the examinees in trouble as they cannot concentrate on their studies. We request our political parties to spare our children," said Ruhul Amin, father of an SSC candidate from Mirpur.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid also called upon the political parties not to initiate or enforce any such programme during exam time.

"We had a past experience. We took examination in the weekends in 2014  and 2015," he told reporters at a pre-examination press briefing at the secretariat.

A total of 20,31,899 students from 28,551 educational institutions are appearing in this year's SSC and equivalent examination from 3,412 centres across the country.

Written tests will be held till February 25, while the practical exams are scheduled from February 26 to March 4.

This year, the number of examinees has increased by over 2.45 lakh.

The education minister further said whether Facebook will be blocked for limited time during examination hours will be decided after considering the situation.

"We have never said that Facebook will be blocked. We don't have the capability of blocking it," the minister added.

He said they have discussed with the authorities concerned and spoke to the chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in this regard and they replied that "effective measures" will be taken.

The minister said a total of 10,23,212 boys and 10,08,687 girls will appear in the SSC and equivalent examinations under 10 education boards.