Police on Tuesday evening dispersed HSC examinees protesting near the National Parliament building with baton charges after the students attempted to enter the Parliament premises as part of their movement demanding the resignation of Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon.
The incident took place around 6:45pm when police moved to clear the students who had gathered at the South Plaza of Parliament. Several protesters were injured in the police action, though their identities could not immediately be confirmed.
The students had earlier issued an ultimatum demanding that the education minister resign by 6pm and apologise to the nation over what they described as “inconsistent remarks”.
They also demanded the cancellation of the next HSC examination and a fresh test for students who were unable to sit Monday’s exam due to adverse weather conditions.
The protesters reached the Parliament area around 6pm after staging demonstrations and road blockades at several locations in the capital throughout the day.
During their stay at the South Plaza, they chanted slogans criticising the authorities while Parliament was in session.
Police officials initially tried to convince the students to leave the area.
The situation, however, deteriorated when some demonstrators attempted to breach security barriers and enter the Parliament premises, prompting police to use batons to disperse them.
Following the clash, the protesters moved away from the Parliament gate towards Asad Gate. At one point, some students attempted to throw bricks and stones at police, according to witnesses.
Earlier in the day, students blocked the Science Lab intersection around 11:30am, disrupting traffic movement in the surrounding areas.
After withdrawing the blockade, they marched through New Market and later gathered near the Dhaka University vice-chancellor’s residence before moving to the Dhaka Education Board office.
The students returned to Science Lab in the afternoon and staged another blockade before heading towards Parliament in a procession. They crossed a police barricade at Asad Gate and reached the South Plaza, where they continued their demonstration.
The protesters are demanding the education minister’s resignation, reforms to the examination system, suspension of HSC exams during disasters, re-examination opportunities for affected candidates, and action over alleged irregularities in the examination process.
Additional law enforcement personnel were deployed in the Parliament area to bring the situation under control.
