Students withdraw Shahbagh blockade issuing ultimatum for Minister's resignation
Protesting students withdrew their blockade of the Shahbagh intersection on Wednesday evening, issuing a10:00 pm ultimatum for the resignation of Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon.
The group, which had halted Dhaka's one of the busiest intersections for nearly 90 minutes starting at 6:00 pm, warned that they would launch a ‘Long March to the Secretariat’ from the Science Laboratory intersection at 10:00 am tomorrow if their demand is not met.
Rahat Ahmed, a student of Dhanmondi Ideal College, announced the suspension of today's programme around 7:30 pm. "People are suffering due to the road blockade. We do not want that. However, our demand remains unchanged. The Minister must step down by 10:00 pm tonight," he said.
Following the announcement, the students left the road and traffic resumed through Shahbagh.
Expressing anger over the decision to conduct HSC exams amidst rain and waterlogging, errors in the Physics question paper and the overall quality of the questions, the students held protests, road blockades and rallies throughout Dhaka, Chattogram, and other parts of the country yesterday.
Around 9:45 pm last night, a group of students in Dhaka ended their protest after announcing a new programme. Regarding the new programme, the students said that if today's scheduled exams were not postponed, they would observe a ‘Long March to the Education Ministry’ starting at 3:00 pm.
According to that announcement, a group of students blocked the Science Laboratory intersection today around 2:30 pm after the exam concluded. This halted vehicular movement on the road. They stayed there for a while before heading towards the Secretariat as part of the ‘Long March to the Education Ministry’ from the Science Laboratory intersection.
At around 4:00 pm, they reached Shikkha Bhaban, where they were stopped by police barricades. They then staged a sit-in at the site and continued chanting slogans demanding the Education Minister's resignation.
One protester in front of Shikkha Bhaban identified himself as Mehedi Hasan Hamim, an HSC candidate from the capital’s Government Laboratory High School. He told Prothom Alo that the Education Minister has lost the qualification to remain in his post. He noted that there are errors in every question paper.
The frustrated student added, “The Minister said those who answered the wrong questions would get full marks; what about those who didn't? An examination cannot truly be conducted this way. We want his resignation.”
After nearly an hour and a half there, the students moved towards the Shahbagh intersection around 5:30 pm. Around 6:00 pm, the protesting students blocked the Shahbagh intersection. This resulted in the suspension of all vehicular movement through Shahbagh.
Rohan Hasnat Jihad, a Humanities student from Mirpur Bangla School and College participating in the sit-in at Shahbagh, told Prothom Alo. “We have only one demand now. The resignation of the Education Minister. The Minister who is neglecting the lives of students must resign.”
Slogans demanding the Education Minister’s resignation were raised from this blockade at Shahbagh.
Meanwhile, around 1:30 pm, another group of students blockaded the road in front of the BNS Centre in Uttara. The blockade halted traffic on both sides, triggering massive gridlocks in the area. During the demonstration, the students chanted slogans for their three-point demand, which includes the resignation of the Education Minister.
One of the protesters, Ikra Islam, an HSC candidate from Sahajuddin Sarker School and College, told Prothom Alo, “The Education Minister called us ‘farm chickens.’ Are we chickens? We want him to step down for that.”
Another student, Md Mehedi Hasan from Cambrian College, added, “Our movement will continue.”
At around 3:45 pm, these students began their ‘Long March to the Education Ministry.’ They marched on foot for some distance before boarding pickups and other vehicles to head toward Shikkha Bhaban.