Dhaka, Oct 20 (V7N) – Students across Bangladesh, including those from Comilla, Jessore, and Chittagong, who failed the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams, staged protests on Sunday, demanding that the published results be canceled and a re-evaluation conducted.

The protesting students expressed their dissatisfaction with the "subject mapping" method used for the six canceled exams, arguing that it caused significant disparities. They pointed out that only three exams were held under the Sylhet Madrasa Board, yet their results were comparatively better, fueling accusations of unfairness. Many students insisted that despite their strong performances, they failed due to the flaws in the mapping system.

"We are not satisfied with the results. We believe we have been treated unfairly. Our only demand is for the HSC results to be based on our secondary school performance," said the protesting students.

In Chittagong, students gathered outside the offices of the Board Chairman and Secretary, warning of stricter protests, including road blockades, if their demands were ignored.

In Jessore, after around an hour and a half of protests, Jessore Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board Chairman Marjina Akter arrived, along with a team from the army to help manage the situation. Akter listened to the students and parents, who submitted a memorandum outlining their grievances.

In Comilla, Board Chairman Professor Md Nizamul Karim responded to the students' demands, explaining that the results were based on subject mapping, as instructed by the Ministry of Education. He encouraged students to submit their demands in writing, promising that the board would forward them to the ministry for review. He also debunked rumors that answer sheets had been destroyed, calling these claims baseless.

These protests followed the interim government's announcement of new exam dates after a long suspension caused by previous student protests. The controversial subject mapping method, introduced by the Dhaka Education Board for evaluating the remaining exams, resulted in dissatisfaction among many students when the HSC results were released on October 15.

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