Chittagong, Bangladesh (BBN)-The Bangladesh government for the third time has rescheduled the Secondary School Certificate and its equivalent examinations due to the 72-hour general strike set to begin Sunday.
The English first paper examination which is scheduled to be held on February 8 now will held from 9:00am to 12noon on February 13, said Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, during a press briefing at Circuit House in Chittagong, the port city of the country, on Saturday.
On the other hand, the English second paper examination will held from 10:00am to 1:00pm on February 14, the minister added.
Earlier, this examination was scheduled to be held on February 10.
The minister said that the other examinations will be held as per its schedule.
The BNP-led 20-party alliance-called 72-hour strike is scheduled to begin from 6:00am Sunday.
The alliance called the shutdown protesting the killing of its party leaders and activists in the name of shootout.
The party is also protesting what it termed the “unlawful arrest” of the party leaders and activists.
The SSC examinations are calendared to begin from February 2.
But the ongoing political unrest including roads, rail and waterways blockade along with frequent strike forced the government to defer the exam date.
However, the SSC examinations have started on February 6 which is a weekend in Bangladesh.
During the briefing, the education minister requested the 20-party to keep two hours before the examination and two hours after the examination out of strike purview considering the sufferings of the examinees.
Around 1.5 million students across the country are sitting for the examination.
BBN/ASI/AD-7Feb15-4:10pm (BST)
