The protests over the HSC exams have taken a significant turn. A group of student protesters has withdrawn its demand for the resignation of the Minister of Primary and Mass Education, Dr. A. N. M. Ehsanul Haque Milon, and instead presented a six-point list of demands to the government.
The change was formalized on Wednesday when a delegation of six student protesters entered the Ministry for dialogue. It is worth noting that the list of demands they presented did not include the minister’s resignation, which had been central to their previous three-point platform. The students’ message, as one of the protesters explained, is that they are no longer seeking the minister’s removal, but rather want their six demands accepted and the education system reformed without putting pressure on students.
Here is what each demand actually means for HSC candidates.
Demand 1: A Retake Option for the “Disaster Exams”
Students who took exams in bad weather—wading through flooded streets to reach the centers—are demanding that those who wish to do so be guaranteed the opportunity to retake them. This goes beyond the government’s previous protective measure, which only covered students who were unable to attend the exams.
Demand 2: The Higher Mark Counts
Paired with the first demand: for anyone who retakes a subject, the better score between the original exam and the retake should stand as the final result. In other words, retaking could only help, never hurt.
Demand 3: Full Marks for Faulty Questions
The students want full marks awarded for the erroneous questions that appeared in question papers — echoing the Physics first paper controversy, where the government has already indicated full marks will be added during evaluation.
Demand 4: Time to Recover Before Rescheduled Exams
Considering the unstable situation, the charter asks for adequate preparation time — including mental recovery — before any postponed exams are rearranged. With Chittagong board’s exams suspended indefinitely, this demand directly shapes how the makeup routine should be built.
Demand 5: Judge the New Question Patterns Fairly
According to the students, this year’s question papers changed in pattern without prior announcement, leaving many facing unfamiliar question types compared to previous years. They want that factored into evaluation.
Demand 6: Stop the “Conscious Guard” Intimidation
The final demand targets exam-hall culture: an end to the harsh and confusing behavior of some invigilators in the name of strict guarding, which the students say frightens examinees and adds mental pressure during the exam itself.
What Happens Next
The delegation’s entry into the Secretariat signifies that formal talks are underway, and the abandonment of the demand for resignation is interpreted as a strategy to facilitate negotiations. Several of the demands—maximum marks for incorrect answers and the possibility for students affected by bad weather to retake exams missed in Chittagong—align with measures announced by the government, suggesting common ground.
The most difficult issues are the demands to retake the exam with a higher grade, something unprecedented in a public examination in Bangladesh. The decision of the examination boards on these demands will determine the course of this movement.
Rising Barta will report on the outcome of the talks and any official response to the six demands as soon as it occurs. Stay tuned.
