Postponed HSC exams to be held on same day in separate shifts: education adviser

The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations postponed on July 22 and 24 due to the air force jet crash at Milestone College will now be held on the same day, Education Adviser Professor CR Abrar said today.

The rescheduled exam date will be announced within a few days through an official notice, the adviser said while speaking to journalists at the Secretariat

"Usually, as per the board's rules, if an exam is postponed, it is held a few days after the final exam to give students some time. But in this case, we have decided not to delay the process any further," he said.

He explained that the Chemistry exam for science group students, originally scheduled for July 22, will be held in the morning.

The Economics exam for humanities group students, which was scheduled for July 24, will be held in the afternoon of the same day, he added.

According to the original schedule, the July 22 exams included Chemistry (theory) second paper under the science stream; History of Islam and Culture second paper; History second paper; Home Management and Family Life second paper; and Production Management and Marketing second paper. The July 24 exams were set for Economics first paper and Engineering Drawing and Workshop Practice first paper.

Only one exam will apply to each student, as the rescheduled exams are for different groups and will be held in separate shifts on the same day.

Soon after the announcement, concerns were raised over the practicality of such a plan.

Rokshana Laboni, a guardian of an HSC examinee, contacted this newspaper and criticised the decision as "unrealistic." She said her daughter, a science student at Nirjhor College, is due to sit for Chemistry in the morning and Engineering Drawing in the afternoon.

"How can she be expected to prepare for two major subjects on the same day?" she asked.

She further pointed out a logistical hurdle: her daugher's Chemistry exam centre is Naval Academy College, while the Engineering Drawing exam will be held at her own institution, Nirjhor College.

"In a city like Dhaka, where traffic is a nightmare, how is my daughter supposed to rush between two different centres in one day?"

"The government must rethink this decision," Rokshana said.