A group of school students and their guardians formed a human chain near Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson’s Gulshan office in Dhaka on Saturday demanding the withdrawal of hartal and blockade programmes as SSC examinations begin on Monday.

Nearly 200 students of Badda Girls High School and some of their guardians took position at the entry point of Road No 86 at Gulshan 2 at about 10:30am holding placards and posters inscribed with anti-violence slogans.

They staged the human chain programme there for half an-hour requesting Khaleda to call off the political programmes so that SSC examinees can safely take part in the examinations.

Later, nearly 40 guardians holding placards marched towards BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office and submitted a memorandum with their 4-point demand, including withdrawal of hartal and blockade, to its staff.

Talking to reporters, headmaster of the school Abdullah Al Mamun said they arranged the peaceful programme to draw the attention of political parties to withdraw hartal and blockade enabling the examinees to smoothly sit for their examinations.

The SSC and its equivalent examinations will begin simultaneously under the country’s 10 education boards, including one of madrasah and another technical board, on Monday amid tensions and anxiety among the examinees and their guardians over the turbulent political situation.

A total of 1,479, 266 students have registered their names under the 10 educational boards to appear in the examinations in 3,116 centres from 27,808 institutions across the country. Of the total students, 7, 63, 339 are boys and the 7, 15, 927 girls.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid on Thursday urged the BNP-led 20-Party Alliance to withdraw their non-stop transport blockade programme considering the examinees’ future.