Education Minister regrets controversial remarks on HSC students

'My intention was not to demean or hurt anyone. Still, if anyone feels hurt, I simply regret it,' ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon said at the Parliament

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon has formally expressed regret for his recent comments over HSC exams and students.

“Many have criticised my recent remarks. My intention was not to demean or hurt anyone. Still, if anyone feels hurt, I simply regret it,” he said during a parliament session around 7:30pm on Tuesday.

Ehsanul Hoque Milon made the statement amid ongoing the countrywide demonstrations students are staging to press home several demands including the minister’s swift resignation, and the suspension of HSC and equivalent exams owing to harsh weather.

The students have been calling on the Education Ministry to suspend the exams amid inclement weather patterns, including persistent rainfall, waterlogging and flash floods, in different parts of the country.

Despite the calls, the ministry went ahead with the exams on Monday, causing misery for the students and the guardians, the students have alleged.

ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon recently told a student over the phone that the students are “farm chickens,” which catch cold in a “little rain.”

The Whatsapp voice conversation was audio recorded on another phone and the record recently went viral in the social media, sparking an uproar against the minister.

Amid the ongoing protests against the minister, and the current exam schedule, the students tried to breach the Parliament premises on Tuesday evening, while a session was ongoing.

Police charged at the students with batons to disperse them, leading to a brief chase and counter-chase. Many students were injured in the clash before they were driven away from the Parliament area.