Fury as SSC candidates from Gaibandha schools deprived of admit cards

Despite being promised the cards, the candidates allege they did not have any until late Monday night

Traffic has been suspended on the Dhaka-Rangpur Highway for nearly one and half hours as 29 candidates flanked by their relatives and friends blocked it in Gaibandha’s Palashbari Upazila demanding admit cards.

When the Upazila administrator (UNO) Shek Jaber Ahmed rushed to the scene in front of a petrol station around 10pm on Monday and assured them of providing the admit cards by that night, they withdrew the blockade.

Students of Greedharipur Adarsha High School said they launched the protests around 8:45pm, leading to tailbacks involving hundreds of vehicles on both sides of the highway. Passengers suffered greatly due to the situation.

Meanwhile, citing the same reason, 36 SSC candidates from Jundhah High School and their guardians staged a sit-in programme in front of the UNO office.

They alleged that the authorities failed to provide them with the admit cards between Monday morning and afternoon.

They were also promised the cards at night.

Around 10pm, UNO Jaber said they were working to ensure admit cards from the relevant authorities before the exams.

However, students from both schools claimed they did not receive any until late Monday night.

Similar protests emerged in Phulchhari Upazila, where candidates from the MQ Academy High School were given 150 admit cards with “printing mistakes”, including wrong sections, photos and names.

Nearly 1.85 million students across Bangladesh are set to appear for this year’s Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations starting Tuesday morning.