The record number of students failing the SSC and equivalent exams this year has exposed the dire state of the country’s education system, with the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and his followers systematically destroying the system to use the students as members of his mob gangs.
This year, 6,00,660 students failed, which is the highest in the past decade. Of these, 3,24,716 are male students and 2,75,944 are female. The pass rate has dropped to only 68.45%, compared to 83.3% last year.
Educationists believe that the future of students has been systematically destroyed through organised movements, unrest, and attacks on teachers in educational institutions under the umbrella of Yunus’s interim government.
Analysts believe that a clear blueprint has been implemented to divert the youth from the path of education and use them for political interests.
Parents claim that Yunus and his allies encouraged the students to join the movement, abandoning their studies.
Jamaat, Islami Chhatra Shibir, Hefazat, and banned militant groups, like Hizb ut-Tahrir, also deployed their students on the streets during the movement and motivated them to kill the police and Awami League supporters and launch arson attacks.
When the trained militants started committing arson attacks and killing the police, Awami League President and five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina requested parents to check their children so that they do not indulge in terrorist activities.
After the August 5 changeover, radical studentsโin collusion with some teachersโforced over 3,000 teachers to resign from various institutionsโfrom schools to universitiesโand assaulted and insulted them. These incidents are unprecedented in the history of Bangladesh.
Of the teachers targeted, six have died, more than 500 have been injured, and many are in jail in politically motivated cases.
According to experts, the main goal of the Yunus government was to destroy the dignity of teachers and create a fearful environment for students in institutions and install their loyal administrators.
During the exams, many students were not in the exam halls but on the streets. They continued their agitation for auto-pass, the result of which is this disaster. More than 600,000 students did not pass the SSC, and not a single one from 134 educational institutions passed.
This year, textbooks did not reach students at the beginning of the year. Only 60 million books out of about 410 million were distributed on time. There has been gross corruption in the printing process, leading to low-quality prints on substandard papers.
Moreover, the textbooks were revised to distort the history of the Liberation War and remove some articles and poems.
In addition, the postponement and cancellation of the HSC and equivalent exams have further put the future of students in uncertainty.
Education analysts claim that the cancellation of exams, the delay in book distribution, and the insulting of teachersโeverything has been done in a planned manner. There is a well-organised circle behind this, led by Yunus himself.
Many teachers across the country have yet to return to educational institutions. Hundreds of families are living in subhuman conditions, losing their salaries and dignity. Educational institutions are becoming virtually non-functional.
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Education analysts say such an education crisis has never been seen before in the history of Bangladesh. The responsibility for this disarray lies squarely with Yunus and his incompetent, politically motivated interim government.
Reinstating quota for July warriors
The movement that started in 2024 demanded the abolition of the quota system in government jobs, as it had been since 2018. But it was actually an excuse to wage a massive movement to topple the government.
After the anarchists captured power, special facilities were given admission to government secondary and higher secondary educational institutions for the family members of those killed and injured in the July riots.
This time, similar facilities are being provided at the university level as well.
In addition, the online admission process of 19 public universities under the GST (General, Science and Technology) cluster, which started on May 29, also mentioned that โspecial facility.โ However, it is being given under the โquota optionโ of online admission, which has created controversy on social media.
Many have raised questions that, after the anti-quota movement, the quota facility is now being given to the families of the protesters again.
Earlier, at the school level, a quota was set for admission to government schools for children of the families of those killed and injured in the July-August uprising, but the Ministry of Education later cancelled that decision. Instead, it was decided to keep one additional seat in each class.
On March 2 this year, the Department of Secondary and Higher Education issued a letter to the headmasters of government schools and colleges instructing them to keep quotas in admissions. However, in the face of criticism, it was revised the next day, and a decision was made to keep one additional seat in each class.
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Meanwhile, a notification issued by Dhaka University Public Relations Director (Acting) Md Rafiqul Islam on May 26 said that the family members of the martyrs and injured listed in the gazette will get special benefits in the first-year undergraduate admission test at the university in the 2024-2025 academic year. Wives, sons, and daughters will get priority, but if they do not have them, brothers and sisters will also get this benefit. This decision was taken at a meeting of the Deans’ Committee.
The online application forms for admission include quotas for freedom fighters, small ethnic groups or tribes, children of teachers and officials, BKSP or players, Harijans and Dalits, and non-tribals of the CHT, while the privilege for the anti-quota movement has been mentioned separately as special benefits.
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