No intention to resign: CR Abrar

Education Adviser Prof CR Abrar yesterday said the delay in deciding to postpone Tuesday's Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination was "reasonable".

"The decision cannot be made abruptly, and no one has the authority to make a hasty decision. If the examinations are to be postponed, we must take the necessary measures to roll back the process accordingly," the adviser said, adding that the question papers must also be retrieved if they have already been dispatched to the exam centres.

The adviser was speaking to reporters at the Secretariat, a day after HSC examinees demanded his resignation while protesting in the administrative complex over the delayed decision to postpone Tuesday's exam following the jet crash.

A Bangladesh Air Force F7 aircraft crashed into a building of Milestone College in Dhaka's Uttara, killing at least 32 persons, mostly students.

"The perception that exams can be postponed through a unilateral decision is incorrect. The decision was made following due process," CR Abrar said.

"It would have been better if the decision could have been made earlier, but that was not reasonably possible," he said.

The adviser said the issue of postponing the exam arose while they were still at the hospital around 10:00pm following the devastating incident. He added that many students and their guardians had wanted the exam to be held on time.

"The authorities have to take everything into consideration," he said.

Asked about the students' demand about his resignation, CR Abrar said, "I have no intention to resign, as it doesn't seem that there has been any deviation here… But if my employers think there is a deviation and they want me to go, I will go."

"The secretary has been withdrawn. That decision was made by a higher-level committee. I was not involved in that decision. I cannot explain why it was made."

At least 75 people were injured as clashes broke out at the Secretariat between law enforcers and HSC examinees, who were demonstrating for various demands, including the resignation of the education adviser and the education secretary.

Police and army personnel charged truncheons and fired tear gas canisters as students stormed the Secretariat complex on Tuesday, triggering a chase and counter-chase that lasted for over an hour.

On Tuesday, another protest took place at Milestone School and College where CR Abrar and Law Adviser Asif Nazrul were confined for several hours.

CR Abrar said he, along with Asif Nazrul, went to the school to express condolences to the college authorities on behalf of the government and to meet the victims' families.

Then, the advisers were informed about the six-point demand, which was logical except for one or two issues that were challenged through discussion. Suddenly, a tense situation arose with the involvement of outsiders, he said.

"We don't want any force to be used against the students. We were mentally prepared to stay there for one or two days if the situation demanded. That's why we waited there before eventually leaving the place," he said.

Meanwhile, the HSC and equivalent examinations scheduled for July 22 and 24, which were postponed due to the jet crash, will be held on August 17 and 19, respectively, reports BSS.

This information was provided yesterday in a letter signed by Prof SM Kamal Uddin Haider, controller of examinations of Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board and convener of the Inter-Education Board Examination Regulatory Committee.

The letter mentioned that the practical examination has also been postponed due to the postponement of the written examination date.

According to the original schedule, the July 22 exams included Chemistry (theory) second paper under the science stream; History of Islam and Culture second paper; History second paper; Home Management and Family Life second paper; and Production Management and Marketing second paper.

The July 24 exams were set for Economics first paper and Engineering Drawing and Workshop Practice first paper.