Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) on Monday urged the Ministry of Education to postpone the ongoing Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations, along with other board and university examinations, considering sudden floods, excessive rainfall and ongoing disaster situation across the country.

JCD President Rakibul Islam Rakib and General Secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir in a statement urged the ministry to take an urgent and compassionate decision to address the concerns of students and guardians amid the disaster.

They said, according to media reports, 267,918 families in seven districts have already been fully stranded by floodwaters, while 1,022,963 people have been severely affected.

The JCD leaders said many educational institutions in the affected areas are currently being used as shelters, while roads have been submerged, making travel to examination centres extremely risky and difficult for students.

“If the examinations are postponed temporarily at this moment, it will ensure the safety and relief of students,” they said.

The statement said many students in flood-affected areas have lost their textbooks, notebooks and necessary documents due to the disaster. “Taking examinations in such a situation will put students from flood-hit areas at a psychological disadvantage, which may negatively affect their results,” the statement added.

At the same time, the JCD leaders instructed leaders and activists of the organisation to actively participate in disaster response efforts by providing humanitarian assistance for examinees and affected people in flood-hit areas and standing beside local administrations.