Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid on Thursday urged Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led 20-Party Alliance to withdraw their countrywide non-stop transport blockade to shun violence during the forthcoming Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations.

 “Only three days are left, I hope, they’ll withdraw the blockade by this time considering the students’ interest,” the education minister told a press briefing at the secretariat.

Nahid said the law enforcers have been asked to take all kinds of preparation to ensure the security of students, especially both on their way to the examination centres and back home, so that they can sit for the examination safely.  

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 February 2 amid tensions and anxiety among the examinees and their guardians over the stormy political condition.

A total of 1,479, 256 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.  

Some 11, 10,339 students will appear from general education board, while 2, 56, 380 from madrasah and 1, 10, 295 from technical board.

Two hundred and ninety-seven students will appear in the public examination from abroad in eight centres.

This year the number of total examinees has marked a rise by 46,539.

The examinations of Bengali 1st paper, Easy Bengali 1st paper and Bengali Language and Bangladeshi Culture 1st paper will be held on the first day.

Creative question method will be followed in all the papers, except Bangla 2nd paper, English 1st and 2nd papers.

The written examinations will finish on March 10 while the practical exams are scheduled to commence on March 16.