DHAKA: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday held the opposition BNP and Jamaat responsible for the declining rate of pass percentage in this year’s HSC and equivalent examinations.“It is the BNP and Jmaaat-Shibir who are responsible for this decline (in pass percentage); they must take the responsibility,” she said after receiving the results from Minister for Education Nurul Islam Nahid.
The Education Minister handed over the copy of the results to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at around 10:00am at her official residence Ganobhaban.
“We had requested them (BNP, Jamaat-Shibir) repeatedly for not enforcing hartal during the examinations. But they imposed hartals during the examinations,” said the Prime Minister.
The overall pass rate in the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and its equivalent examinations has declined by 4.37 percentage points from the last year.
The result of the HSC and its equivalent examinations this year showed a pass rate of 74.30 percent against 78.67 percent recorded in the last year.
The Prime Minister said a total of 32 HSC exam dates had to be shifted due to the opposition party-imposed hartals.
“The exam date of English second paper was shifted for four times. At last it was held at the end of all other exams whereas it was scheduled to be held in the first phase. The frequent change of dates for the exams badly affected the examinees, creating huge pressure on them,” she said.
Hasina alleged that the BNP and the Jamaat-Shibir don’t give a hoot the academic life of the students and they don’t bother about the quality of the education. “That’s why they imposed hartals during the SSC and HSC examinations,” she added.
“BNP and Jamaat-Shibir would have to answer to the nation as to why they destroyed the future of the students by imposing hartals… Can anyone say what they had achieved by imposing hartals?” she questioned.
She said it is regrettable if someone cannot realise the importance of the examinations.
Hasina, who is also the president of ruling Awami League, said the present government put the highest emphasis on the education sector and formulated an education policy that was acceptable by all.
She congratulated the examinees, teachers and guardians for their hard labour although the rate of the passed examinees declined this year.
She thanked the teachers and all concerned for publishing the results within the stipulated time despite several hartal programmes of the opposition parties.
The Prime Minister also felicitated the successful students and suggested those who could not came out successful not to be frustrated and be more attentive in their studies.
She underscored the need for increasing pass percentage and asked the students to be more attentive to this end.
Hasina termed the education as the tool of poverty alleviation and said her government put top priority on education to ensure education for all.
She said her government gave special emphasis on technical education to create employment opportunities and also made religious education compulsory for all.
The Prime Minster mentioned that 78.18 lakh students of primary level, 40 lakh from secondary level and 1.33 lakh girl students from degree level are being provided with stipends to spread education apart from supplying free textbooks up to the secondary level.
She also mentioned the introduction of multimedia class rooms in over 23,000 schools to share the lessons of reputed schools in the country.
She said that her government is taking necessary measures to set up universities in every district to ensure higher education for all.
After the announcement of the results online and talking with people of Jessore through video conference, Hasina said that digital Bangladesh has been built as pledged in their election manifesto.
Now, she said, the students of even rural areas need not to go to the upazila and district headquarters for their results as it could be known through a simple SMS from mobile phone.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Education Secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury and PM’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad were present on the occasion.
Chairmen of all education boards handed over the result sheets of their respective board separately to the Prime Minister who published the results of the ten boards online, switching on a computer button.
After publishing the results, the Prime Minister talked to Information and Communication Technology Minister Mostafa Faruk Mohammad, Members of Parliament Khaledur Rahman Tito and Khan Tipu Sultan and four students of Jessore district through video conference from Ganobhaban. – Staff Reporter
