Chittagong Students Stage Mock Funeral for Education Minister Amid Exam Row

CHITTAGONG — Hundreds of Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinees staged a fierce demonstration outside the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Chittagong, culminating in a highly symbolic, mock funeral prayer (gaebana janaza) for the Education Minister, Dr A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milan. The unrest was triggered by the board’s refusal to defer public examinations despite severe waterlogging and torrential rainfall paralysing the port city.

The demonstration commenced at approximately 11:00 am on Tuesday, 14 July, as students from the ‘HSC Batch 2026’ gathered outside the board office in the city’s Muradpur area. Tensions reached a boiling point by early afternoon when enraged protesters forcibly detached the primary iron gate of the education board facility and carried it away on their shoulders. This unprecedented act was captured on video and circulated widely across social media platforms, sparking intense public debate.

Severe Weather and Systemic Failures

The escalation followed days of relentless downpours that left vast swathes of Chittagong submerged, cutting off transport links and preventing countless candidates from reaching their respective examination centres on 13 July. Furthermore, students expressed immense frustration over alleged errors and anomalies in several question papers distributed during the initial phases of the exam cycle. Demonstrators stated that these academic inconsistencies, coupled with the stress of navigating submerged streets, had caused severe mental distress and left them deeply anxious about their future prospects.

By 4:00 pm, the students temporarily vacated the main thoroughfare after submitting a comprehensive seven-point memorandum to the Chairman of the Education Board. Among their primary demands is the immediate suspension of all remaining HSC examinations until the nationwide flood situation and natural disasters return to normalcy.

The students are also demanding standardisation of question papers to ensure alignment with the official curriculum, alongside fair and lenient evaluation for sections impacted by printing errors. The memorandum calls for strict accountability for the officials responsible for the flawed question papers, special arrangements for students who missed exams due to natural disasters, the re-issuance of admit cards where necessary, and the formulation of a realistic revised examination schedule.

Escalation and Official Silence

Aminul Islam Shakil, a student spearheading the protest, expressed disappointment at the administrative response.

“We presented our seven-point demand to the board authorities, who promised to convey a definitive decision by 3:00 pm. Because they failed to meet this deadline, we were compelled to hold the symbolic funeral prayer for the Education Minister at 6:00 pm to register our absolute rejection of their apathy,” he stated.

Protesters have threatened to launch even more stringent programmes if their demands remain unaddressed.

During the height of the protests, students briefly blockaded the entrance to the education board office, preventing staff and officials from entering or leaving the premises. They argued that candidates in flood-hit regions across Bangladesh, including Dhaka, faced similar logistical nightmares, yet the authorities chose to ignore their plight.

Law enforcement agencies deployed additional police personnel to the area to prevent further escalation and maintain public order. Attempts to reach the Secretary of the Chittagong Education Board, Professor Mohammad Zahirul Hoque, for an official statement on the crisis were unsuccessful, as he repeatedly failed to respond to telephone enquiries.