Staff Reporter :Agitating medical admission seekers on Sunday submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding cancellation of the medical admission test. A seven-member team of the students went to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) where the protocol officer of the office received the memorandum in the afternoon. As a result, the admission seekers withdrew their indefinite sit-in at 6pm at the Shahbagh intersection which they started at about 12:45 pm. “We shall again stage sit-in on the Central Shaheed Minar premises at 9:00am on Monday (today),” said Asif Bin Taki, a medical admission seeker, at Shahbagh on Sunday afternoon.The protesters have, however, threatened of indefinite strike at all educational institutions across the country from October 7 if their demands are not met.They have also called upon all the medical students and interns to boycott classes and abstain from work for one-hour today (Monday). Earlier in the morning, hundreds of students and guardians started marching towards the PMO from the Central Shaheed Minar around 12:33pm to submit their memorandum in favour of their demands. Many students from Dhaka Medical College and Sir Salimullah medical College also joined the protesting students expressing solidarity with them.On their way to PM office, the agitating students faced police barricade set up in front of the Shahabagh Police Station.The agitated students took to the Shahbagh intersection by breaking the police barricade and started a sit-in there. They were chanting slogans in favour of their demands.At one stage, Shibli Noman, Assistant Commissioner (Ramna Zone) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, using a loudspeaker called upon the agitators to remain calm.He urged the students to send their representatives to him so that he could help the team go to the PM office with their memorandum. Then, a seven-member delegation went to the PM office for submitting their memorandum.After doing it, the students dispersed. On the other hand, Pragatishil Chhatra Jote and Samrajyabad Birodhi Chhatra Oikya, an alliance of 13 student organizations, on Sunday threatened to enforce an indefinite strike from October 7 for realisation of their demands.”We will call the strike in all educational institutions across the country if the demand for cancelling the admission tests and arresting those involved with leaking of question papers are not met by October 6,” said Imran Habib, a spokesman of the students’ platform in a press briefing at Shahbagh.The students will bring out demonstrations and torch processions on October 5 and 6 as part of their ongoing protests, he said. The students have been demonstrating for last few days demanding retake of medical and dental college admission tests following allegations that questions of admission test were leaked.
