PM Congratulates SSC Examinees For Their Success Despite Hartal-Blockade

Calling upon the BNP-Jamaat nexus to refrain from destructive acts including burning people and unleashing vandalism, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said there is no mercy to those who will play ducks and drakes with the lot of the people.

Citing the plight of SSC examinee Minhajul Islam Anik, who lost his one eye in a bomb explosion in Feni on January 5 this year during the BNP-Jamaat blockade, the Prime Minister said there is no mercy to those who will play with the fate of the people.

Prime Minister came up with the warning after receiving the results of this year's SSC and equivalent examinations at her official Ganobhaban residence here this morning.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid formally handed over the SSC and equivalent exam results to the Prime Minister at a simple ceremony.

Later the chairmen of the 10 education boards--eight general education, one madrasa and one technical education board--handed over their respective board results to the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister later talked to parliament members, deputy commissioners, teachers and students of Rangamati and Nilphamari through videoconferencing on the occasion of publishing the results.

The Prime Minister said she did not see such destructive politics the BNP-Jamaat unleashed since January. "I have been involved in politics since my school life. But I never saw burning those people to death for whom we do politics," she said.

Pointing out the results of this year's SSC and equivalent exams, Sheikh Hasina said the pass rate would have increased had the BNP-Jamaat not obstructed to holding the examination by enforcing hartals and blockades.

"Our expectation was not fulfilled due to destructive movement and burning and vandalism of the BNP-Jamaat. Despite the adverse situation, the examinees came out successful in huge quantity is a big achievement," she said.

In this connection, the Prime Minister congratulated the successful examinees as well as the teachers, guardians and other concerned for holding the examination and publishing results.

"Our students are meritorious and they can do well, if they are given the minimum opportunities," she said.

She termed publishing the results within 57 days of the examinations as an epoch-making incident.

Sheikh Hasina said her government has given top priority to education to celebrate the country's golden jubilee of independence by building Bangladesh a middle income country by 2021. "We have firm belief that we could be able to achieve the goal," she said.

In this connection, the Prime Minister spelled out her government's steps for the development of education. The measures included nationalization of primary schools and jobs of their teachers, distribution of free textbooks on the first day of the year, providing stipends to huge number of students, formation of Prime Minister's Education Assistance Fund and setting up multimedia class rooms in huge number of schools.

While mentioning the distribution of free textbooks among the students, Sheikh Hasina said we reached the free textbooks to every school of the country this year and last year like "guerrilla system" amid the BNP-Jamaat hartals and blockades.

The Prime Minister said her government has given priority to science and technical education so that the students get job after completion of study. "That is why our previous government in 1996 took initiatives to set up 12 science and technology universities in the country," she said.

Describing education as the main tool of building a poverty-free Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina said her government is firmly committed to achieving the goal.

"It is not possible to eliminate poverty without development of education," she said.

The Prime Minister urged the students to pay more attention to their studies for better results to establish Bangladesh as an enlightened and dignified nation on the world stage.