HSC examinees from several educational institutions staged demonstrations in Dhaka on Monday, blocking key roads at the Science Lab intersection and in front of the BNS Centre in Uttara to press a three-point demand, including the resignation of Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon within 24 hours.
The protesters also demanded the suspension of HSC examinations until weather conditions improve and fresh examinations for students who were unable to sit for the 13 July physics and accounting exams due to adverse weather.
Students from Dhaka College, City College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Abdur Rouf College, Noor Mohammad Public College, Dhaka Imperial College, Cambrian College and several other institutions joined the demonstrations.
During the protests, students chanted slogans calling for the minister's resignation and immediate action to meet their demands.
Towaha Yasin Hossain, Assistant Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Traffic Division (New Market Zone), said traffic from Shahbagh towards Science Lab remained suspended because of the blockade. Police were attempting to negotiate with the protesters and restore normal traffic.
Around 11:30am, another group of students blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in front of the BNS Centre in Uttara, causing severe traffic congestion.
Md Rubel Haque, Additional Deputy Commissioner of the DMP Traffic Division (Uttara), confirmed that traffic on the Dhaka-Mymensingh road had come to a standstill due to the demonstration.
A protesting student, Ayman Mahmud, alleged that the education minister had failed to address students' concerns since assuming office. He also claimed that question papers from the 2025 examinations had been reused at several examination centres.
The demonstrators said HSC examinations should remain suspended until weather conditions fully improve and demanded fresh examinations for candidates who missed Sunday's tests because of the adverse weather. They also called on the minister to apologise to affected students.
The protesters further alleged that examinations were being conducted before completion of the full syllabus, leaving many candidates unprepared and causing significant mental stress.
