Jessore Board takes SSC exam at night for Christian student

Ricky Halder, a Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinee from the Perfect English Version School and College in Kumarkhali upazila under Jessore Education Board, sat for his exam at night, a first in the history of the board, according to UNB.

Ricky belongs to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in Christian calendar, as the Sabbath.

Sabbath is a day of religious observance and abstinence from work, observed by Jews from Friday evening to Saturday evening. Adventists also abstain from secular work, including writing, during the day on Saturday.

Ricky sat for his exam at Kumarkhali MN High School from Saturday 6:00pm to 9:00pm where Maulana Abdul Hakim, a teacher of the school served as the invigilator.

Kumarkhali Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Rajibul Islam Khan visited the centre.

After finishing, Ricky told reporters that it was an amazing experience for him, adding the questions were "easy".

Ricky will similarly appear for his Math, Chemistry and Science tests on 9, 16, and 23 February respectively, at night, the first such case in the history of the board.

Controller (Exam) of Jashore Board Madhab Chandra Rudra said they decided to allow Ricky to sit for exams after dark on Saturdays following a petition filed by him.

Centre secretary of Kumarkhali MN High School centre Firoz Mohammad Bashar said they made arrangements for taking Ricky's night exams on Saturdays following the board's instruction.

Accordingly Ricky entered the centre at 9:00am with other students but was kept in a separate room all day long to prevent him from gathering the questions from other examinees.