New Delhi: India and Bangladesh have something in common. Both currently have youth-led protests ongoing with the same demand—they want their education minister to resign.
While the protest in India is centred around the NEET-UG scandal, students across Bangladesh are taking to their streets over their government’s decision to continue school board examinations amid massive floods in the country. They want their education minister, Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon, to step down.
What began as a demonstration in front of Dhaka University soon spread to protests across cities like Savar, Barishal, Cumilla, Narayanganj, Jashore and Bogura, Daily Star reported. Along with concerns over holding exams amid floods and rain, the protesters also voiced concerns over alleged errors in multiple question papers and the unusually high difficulty level of the examinations.Beyond the minister’s resignation, the protesters called for a public apology to teachers and students for what they called administrative failures. Within hours, education minister Milon announced Tuesday that some of the ongoing HSC exams, held Monday, could be rescheduled.Meanwhile, the education minister has also come under heaviy criticism after a leaked audio clip went viral, where he purportedly referred to the protesting HSC candidates as “farm-er murgi (farm chickens)”. In an eerily similar development, this has led to students—taking inspiration from India perhaps—launching a ‘Broiler Chicken Party’ page.
