Human chain of teachers and students in Lakshmipur demanding opportunity for private students in scholarship exam

Teachers and students of private schools in Lakshmipur district have formed a human chain to protest the cancellation of the opportunity for students of private educational institutions to participate in the primary scholarship exam through a government notification.

The hour-long human chain was organized by the Private School Association, Lakshmipur, in front of the Lakshmipur Deputy Commissioner's office at 10 am on Monday (July 28).

The human chain was led by the organization's president Habibur Rahman Sabuj and general secretary Rezaul Karim Suman. Teachers, guardians and students of various private schools in the district were also present.

The speakers said, "The government has taken a discriminatory decision by not including students of private educational institutions in this year's primary scholarship exam through a notification on July 17. This is unilateral, unreasonable and will create terrible inequality in primary education."

They also said, “This decision will psychologically traumatize millions of students. Their interest in studies may decrease, which will pose a threat to future generations.”

The speakers claimed that currently there are about 50,000 private kindergartens and equivalent educational institutions in the country, where about one crore students are studying. There are about 450 private educational institutions in Lakshmipur district alone, of which 135 schools are in Sadar Upazila.

After the human chain, a memorandum was submitted to the Chief Advisor and Educational Advisor through the District Administrator, in which a strong demand was made to give private students the opportunity to participate in the scholarship exam.

The speakers urged the government to quickly reconsider this decision, maintaining the perspective of equality and justice in the field of education.