Police on Sunday dispersed a group of unsuccessful candidates of the 18th Teacher Registration Examination who were demonstrating in front of the Jatiya Press Club demanding that all viva voce participants be declared successful.
The protests which began in the morning turned chaotic around 11:30am when law enforcers used water cannons and sound grenades to disperse the protesters, said witnesses.
Rajibul Islam, one of the protesters, said, “The exam ended on May 31, and the results were published on June 4. This was not a proper viva. How can they publish such results? And how can so many candidates fail? We do not accept this.”
Officer-in-Charge of Shahbagh Police Station Khalid Mansur said the protesters have temporarily stepped back following police intervention.
“We are still in discussions with them. Senior officials are also involved in the talks. Further action will be taken based on the outcome,” he said.
Earlier around 11am, police intercepted the protesters as they tried to advance from in front of the Press Club.
When asked to leave, the demonstrators refused and continued chanting slogans, prompting the police to take action around 11:30am to disperse them, said the OC.
A section of the 23,000 unsuccessful candidates had gathered demanding that all viva voce participants be granted teacher registration certificates.
They said despite passing the preliminary and written exams and performing well in the viva, they were marked as failed.
The demonstrators eventually left the Press Club area around 2pm.
