Rallies, human chains, and sit-in programmes are being held daily. From the Secretariat to Shahbagh, and the Press Club to the Chief Adviser's residence, multiple groups are staging demonstrations and voicing various grievances simultaneously. They think they are victims of severe discrimination, with their demands ranging from ending 'discriminatory policies' in their jobs to reforming state principles, immediately!
The protesting groups include private employees of government colleges, officials of Bangladesh Bank, members of Village Police, Ansar, students of Medical Assistant Training School (MATS), employees of various government agencies such as the Department of Women and Child Affairs, daily contract workers from various contracting organisations, rickshaw pullers and the list goes on. Employees of the Secretariat have already threatened to paralyse operations of the Secretariats if their nine-point demand is not met. Members of the Ansar Battalion laid siege to the Secretariat on Sunday with their seven-point demands, only to be dispersed by students from Dhaka University who rushed to the scene.
Holding rallies is a democratic right, and regardless of how irrational some demands may seem, or the inconvenience they may cause to Dhaka's already severe traffic congestion, they are an outward sign that the people can exercise their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. This is democracy. While it is the right of each and every individual to protest and air grievances, the government, however, has a solemn duty to the entire nation not to allow street protests to unduly influence its decisions. That, too, is democracy.
Expectations from the newly formed three-week-old interim government are unreasonably high. And although many of the protesting groups have legitimate grievances, one cannot expect a baby to walk before it can crawl. The interim government has yet to be given a chance to find its feet, while the deluge of demands from various quarters is yielding undue pressure on it, which may pave the way for vested quarters to fish in the troubled water.
The government cannot afford to act hastily under pressure from certain individuals or groups, as the consequences could be counterproductive and potentially exacerbate the already complex situation. This surge of expectations necessitates careful deliberation, and the authorities need to make informed decisions at a measured pace rather than rushing into actions that could have unintended serious repercussions.
In this connection, the government's cancellation of this year's remaining HSC examinations under pressure from a few hundred street protesters cannot be said to have been well-considered, for it will only add to the existing chaos in the education system.
The HSC and equivalent examinations, involving approximately 1.45 million candidates, began on June 30, but were paused and then postponed after holding seven exams due to the countrywide protests and unrest. The newly installed interim government decided to resume the exams, but when a group of students began protesting and entered the Secretariat last week, demanding the cancellation of the remaining exams, the Ministry of Education caved in and conceded to their demands.
The students had argued that the repeated postponements, because of the protests, had left them mentally exhausted and many of their peers were injured and not prepared. While the emotional and physical toll on the students is undeniable, cancelling the exams and granting auto-passes is far from being a sound and well-conceived solution.
Now another group of students, opposing the decision, has started protesting against the cancellation of the exams! They are calling for evaluating the injured students' situations individually rather than cancelling the entire exam. They argue that the decision to cancel exams reflects the interests of a few hundred students, while there are 1.45 million HSC examinees.
If students are given auto-pass without actually completing all the necessary exams, particularly in key subjects, their ability to pursue higher education, especially abroad, could be jeopardised. It is, therefore, in the best interests of the students and nation that the remaining exams go ahead, however late.
Exam results cannot be a matter of coercion or negotiation. Exams are reality checks that aid examinees know their level of knowledge on a national standard. If mark sheets and result sheets are prepared according to the dictates of street protests, the entire education system would lose whatever respectability it has locally and overseas.
Irrational demands, coercive tactics and even occasional violence have already started giving a bad name to the recent student-mass revolution that upended the tyranny of the Sheikh Hasina government. The government must not get distracted from their noble mission at hand and get carried away by these street movements or August 5 would be meaningless, disrespecting those who gave their lives in pursuit of a better system. Two wrongs don't make a right. A government is expected to lead, not to follow.
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