Decision on HSC exam schedule to be announced Wednesday

The decision on when the Higher Secondary School (HSC) exam is to be held, will be announced on Wednesday. This decision was supposed to have been announced on Tuesday or earlier, but the education ministry was unable to do so.

When asked when this exam could be held, education minister Dipu Moni told Prothom Alo on Tuesday, “I will let you (journalists) know the time. You will be informed in detail. I will not be able to inform you today. Tomorrow perhaps I will talk to you.”

Education ministry and Dhaka Secondary and higher education board sources said that discussions were being held basically to see if the exams can be held next month. No time or date has been finalised as yet.

Earlier, speaking to newspersons on 30 September, the education minister said at least four weeks time will be given before holding the exam.

A senior official of the Dhaka education board told Prothom Alo that they were prepared to hold the exam. They will be able to make all arrangements if given 15 days time.

There are, however, mixed reactions about holding the exam amid the coronavirus pandemic. A student of Residential Model College told Prothom Alo over phone that they did not want the exam to be held during the prevalence of coronavirus. They had submitted a memorandum to the government to this end.

The HSC exam was scheduled to be held in April but was postponed due to the outbreak of coronavirus. Over 1.3 million students are to appear in this exam.

There are various views on how the exam will be conducted if it is held. On 30 September, the education minister had said that there were many options in this regard, including minimising the number of subjects and marks.