Bangladesh time and time again went through struggles with students leading the charge for freedom and rights of all citizens. It is the students who always sacrificed the most with hopes to bring about a hopeful future.

36th July 2024 is no different, but there are concerns, because the youth today are not satisfied just by changing the present, in order for optimism to shine brighter than ever, they look for assurances. However, the actions of shortening HSC exams, revisiting the old syllabus, and many more actions are now raising concerns among the students today. Moreover, it seems that the old concerns of prospective brilliant minds leaving the country still looms large.

The previous AL government had taken a newer approach devoid of examination among the higher secondary and primary level students. Parents were often concerned and there was a significant lack of teacher training and other variables needed to make these changes feasible. Commenting on the previous curriculum, Mustafa R Nibir expressed, “In my honest opinion, it was a complete mess. Probably, it was full of immature experiments on the students without any practicality.” Nibir currently studies English at East West University and enjoys his part time teaching role as an English Instructor at Mentors’. 

Having gone through the old school curriculum, Nibir believes the new one proposed by the previous regime had significant downsides. “When I was a school student, the education system was mainly orthodox. The patterns of conducting the classes were certain and the academic aspect was more effective to the students than it is now. A generation which is brought up through one system of education will definitely find it difficult if the system is changed overnight.”

The mainstream narratives after the revolution among the recent HSC graduates have not changed. There are still concerns about the educational quality of both Universities and schools. Most of Sabit’s friends as well as Sabit, who sat for HSC from BAF Shaheen College, did not want this year’s HSC to stop so abruptly. The ultimate effect of halting the HSC was negative. “I actually had a burst of negative emotions as I was aware of the consequences of what will happen if we don’t sit for the HSC exam. Basically out of 11 exams, 5 exams were cancelled and results were published from SSC and as we gave SSC exam in short syllabus, most of us had an average of 90 which is extremely hard to get when sitting for HSC exam. It created a bubble of excess marks that resulted in all universities to demand a cut-off number higher than usual just to sit for exams. So I wasn’t that thrilled.”

Another of Sabit’s contemporaries Samin Yaser, who recently gave the IELTS exam and went abroad shared the same view. “As an HSC student, when I found out that my exam will no longer be continued over some mischief, protests, and threats towards the authorities, it was quite disappointing and frustrating. Evaluation can’t be conducted without proper exams for which we are paying the consequences and I believe we will be facing these consequences throughout our lifetime.”

The education system by all metrics since the pandemic has also taken a massive hit. The students enjoyed the shortened syllabus, auto pass cultures, and many more leniencies. Redeeming from such a culture must have been proven difficult for certain students and a call to resolve HSCs without conducting exams was such an instance of undeserved comfort. Not all welcomed such comfort though. 

According to Sabit, it was a balanced reaction. “Many of my friends were extremely happy. They were mentally stressed as they had to wait more than a month because of the political crisis in our country in between our HSC exams. Most of them were backbenchers but some good students were also part of it. But the vast majority of wel- performing students were against it as it resulted in a marked bubble. Even the guy who didn’t study a word of maths or chemistry would get more than 90 as SSC marks were considered for those exams. I too belonged to that category. So, I would say the reaction was quite balanced.”

Though our HSC graduates share similar opinions, they have chosen very different paths for higher education due to different reasons. While both recognise the dire state of the current education system in Bangladesh, Sabit plans to stay at home. “I am currently trying my best to get admission into a prestigious public university in my country as it will lower the cost of getting my bachelors degree and give me a foundation in my career.” 

Sabit though staying back will pursue a higher degree. On the other hand, Samin has chosen to take a different path and prepare himself and he is currently pursu6 a degree in Australia. “Foreign countries still offer more for an international student than what we can even imagine to get in this country as a citizen.”

When it comes to coming back to the country, both of them have different expectations. The corrupted systems and political turmoil which both of them witnessed is quite evident and scary for them. Samin is the most outraged, and sees a bleak future ahead. “I can’t even imagine corruption being eradicated and the country getting a strong boost”. However, Sabit has his own opinion of why he might want to come back. “Yes, I will return to Bangladesh. It might be surprising for many of my friends and classmates to hear this but there are valid reasons for me to come back. I used to hate this country knowing how many problems exist here. But the more I grow, the more I see opportunities. Bangladesh has so many opportunities to grow as many sectors are extremely unorganised but possess great potentials for anyone to excel in, I want to take advantage of it.”

Both Sabit and Samin acknowledge the disappointing past and present state of education in Bangladesh. Both acknowledge the bleakness but they do have their own minds made up. It is therefore sad to witness such disappointment even from the generation that led the auspicious revolution. It is a reminder to all of the stakeholders of the dire state of the education system, and no matter the political dichotomy, it is evident that education as a whole is expected to be thought about from an inclusive and nuanced view.