Staff Reporter :
The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations are likely to begin today (Friday) amid indefinite blockade called by Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led 20 party alliance.
Bengali 1st paper, Easy Bengali 1st paper and Bengali Language and Culture 1st paper will be held from 9am to 12 noon today. The examination of subjects scheduled to start on February 2 were deferred today due to the 72-hour nationwide shutdown enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.
The Bengali second paper examination will be held tomorrow (Saturday) from 10am to 1pm. Bengali second paper examination was scheduled to hold on February 4 but it deferred to Saturday as the BNP-led 20-party alliance on February 4 had extended its ongoing 72-hour nationwide hartal by another 36 hours ended yesterday. The rest of the examinations will be held as per the schedule despite the ongoing indefinite countrywide transport blockade as the BNP-led alliance itself deemed it not effective.
A total of 14,79,666 SSC and its equivalent examinees are going to sit for the biggest public examination today. The examinations will begin simultaneously under the country’s 10 education boards, including one of madrasah and another technical board.
However, an uneasy calm has already started prevailing across the country as the stage is now set to hold the SSC examination amid blockade. Meanwhile, unprecedented security measures have already taken across the country to ensure smooth holding of SSC examinations. Members of police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will guard SSC examinees when they will be going to their respective centers during blockade programmes.
Earlier, Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque and BGB chief Major General Aziz Ahmed assured the SSC candidates of providing all sorts of security.
Besides providing security for exam halls, police would also provide security for localities having more than 50 candidates.
The authority concerned banned the entrance of the general public within 200 yards of exam halls, ordered under section 28 and 29 of the DMP Ordinance.
The BGB personnel would be deployed near examination centres two or three hours before and after exam times, so that examinees can sit the exams and return home safely, according to BGB headquarters.
