Residential Model College students demand entrance exam-based admissions, not lottery allocation

The protest has led to heavy congestion on Mirpur Road

Students of Dhaka Residential Model College have taken to the streets to demand the scrapping of the lottery system for admissions and the implementation of entrance exams instead.

They blocked the road in front of the Gonobhaban to press for the demand on Sunday, leading to heavy traffic congestion on Mirpur Road.

Moinuzzaman, a student in the second-year of the college’s higher secondary, said: “A delegation of ours spoke to the government on the matter on Saturday, but we have been forced to take to the streets after we failed to get a response.”

Moinuzzaman says that the college takes admissions for Class III, Class VI and Class IX. Admissions are done by lottery.

“We don’t want the lottery. We want a merit-based system.”

“There is congestion on the road due to the students’ protest,” said Ruhul Kabir Khan, deputy commissioner of the Tejgaon Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. “We are trying to speak to the students.”

Brig General Shameem Farhad, the outgoing principal of the college, attempted to convince the students to leave the road at 12pm, but was unable to do so.