Withdraw blockade to avoid untoward incidents: Nahid

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid reiterated on Thursday his call to political parties to refrain from violent agitation during Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations, scheduled to start on February 2, 2015.

He also called upon the BNP-led 20-party alliance to withdraw the ongoing blockade to avoid any untoward incident during the forthcoming examinations.

"I hope the alliance will withdraw their violent protest during the public examinations considering the sufferings of the students," the minister said while briefing the journalists at a press conference.

He said this year a total of 1.48 million students from 27,808 schools across the country will take part in the secondary school examinations. The figure was 1.43 million last year.

According to the schedule, the theoretical exams will be completed by March 10, while practical exams will continue until March 16, 2015.