Education minister assures JSC, JDC exams to be on schedule

The JSC and JDC exams will be held on schedule, says Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid.

That puts an end to uncertainties over the tests after the primary and mass education ministry declined to hold them.

As primary education had been extended to Class VIII, there had been some discussion about whether the exams would be supervised by the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, he said.

On Oct 20 the education ministry received a message saying the Ministry of Mass Education would not be able to do so, he said.

“We are to take on the responsibility for these exams,” he said.

“As [the Ministry of Mass Education] has expressed its inability to do so, we will fulfil these duties as we have done before. We hope this will not cause any problems.”

The education minister said the board is prepared to hold the exams.

“Our ministry is completely prepared,” he said. “But it is true we are under greater pressure.”

File photo

The Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) exams are scheduled from Nov 1 to Nov 17.

Ten days before the exams, the Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman said that his ministry would not take responsibility for the exams because the extension of Primary Education to Class VII had not been officially recognised.

The minister had told bdnews24.com that the education ministry would have to hold the exams until the Cabinet formally approved the extension and gave the Mass Education ministry responsibility for the exams.

When asked about the matter Nahid said on Sunday: “We do not know why they made the decision. We have not had a chance to speak, but we will do so.”

The minister, however, did not said the situation did not demonstrate a lack of coordination between the ministries.

“We are taking this in our stride,” he said. “We have experience holding the exams and they do not.”

This year more than 2.4 million students from across the country -- 1.12 million boys and 1.29 million girls -- will take the JSC and JDC exams at 2,734 venues across the country.

The education minister assured teachers, students and guardians there would be no issues with the exams.

"There will be no uncertainties over holding the JSC and JDC exams. The tests will be held on schedule and the results will be published within 30 days," he said.