HSC candidates begin march to Secretariat demanding education minister's resignation

Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) candidates on Wednesday began a march towards the Secretariat after blocking the Science Laboratory intersection in the capital, demanding the resignation of Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon over the decision to hold examinations during the ongoing floods and his ‘controversial’ remarks about students.

The protesters set off from the Science Laboratory intersection for the Secretariat at around 3pm.

Earlier, at about 2:30pm, the students blocked the intersection as part of their announced programme. According to the schedule, candidates were to gather from 1:30pm after their examinations at the Science Laboratory intersection, Shahbagh, Moghbazar, ECB Chattar and in front of the BNS Centre in Uttara.

On the spot, students were seen occupying the Science Laboratory intersection adjacent to Elephant Road from around 2:30pm, bringing traffic in the area to a near standstill.

The blockade triggered severe traffic congestion, causing significant disruption and inconvenience to commuters.

On Tuesday, students from different colleges blocked the Science Laboratory intersection from around 11am. They later staged demonstrations at Shahbagh, the Dhaka University area and the Dhaka Education Board before gathering near the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in the afternoon.

Police later dispersed the protesters with baton charges, but the students regrouped in the evening and continued their demonstration.

At around 10pm, the protesters announced their next programme before leaving the area.