Students are worried that the coronavirus lockdown is going to have a negative impact on their studies and decrease the chances of nailing a job.
They find themselves in a race against time to get a grip over the rapid shift to remote learning and apply for government jobs.
They find it hard to cope with remote learning, something new to them, while keeping the opportunity open to apply for the government jobs, bdnews24.com reports.
All educational institutions were closed down since Mar 17, while the HSC exams, originally scheduled to start on Apr 1, were postponed.
This may lead to a delay in university admission tests as well.
With the age limit for entering government jobs capped at maximum 30, many students now fear they will get less time to apply, while some feel stressed about their studies.
TV and online lessons have been made available for students only up to the higher secondary level, but no coordinated efforts are seen to support students beyond that level.
“I'm not able to prepare for the exams. I can’t study because I’m stressed,” Khalid Hasan, an HSC examinee of Dhaka Residential Model College, told bdnews24.com.
“I don’t know whether I should prepare for the HSC exams or the university admission tests now. I won’t have enough time to prepare for the admission tests if they are held right after the HSC exams.”
Lutfunnahar Furkan studies history at Eden Mohila College, one of the seven colleges affiliated with the Dhaka University which is hit hard by a logjam in academic sessions.
“We are already in a session logjam. We had exams scheduled ahead. I don’t know when the situation will be better. Are we going backwards in time?” she said.
Furkan hopes the authorities will make the right decisions to bridge the gap.
Online lessons, or lessons broadcasted on TV do not provide a chance for students to ask questions, said Aminur Rahman Hridoy, a student of journalism and media at Stamford University.
The government should start planning to offset the losses, hold postponed exams and publish delayed results, he suggested.
“We don’t want them to force decisions on us,” he said.
“A six-month gap in study means a six-month gap in job search. How will the government close the gap? They must make it clear,” said Kazi Samia Rahman, an urban and regional planning student of Jahangirnagar University.
Jagannath University law department student Animesh Roy demanded a raise in the age limit for entering the civil service.
The authorities, however, are not thinking about the issues now.
“Saving lives is more important than education now. We will take special programmes to restart academic activities after tackling the disaster,” said Harun-or-Rashid, vice chancellor of National University.
The National University decides the fate of two-thirds of students in the country as all government and private colleges offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses are affiliated to it.
“We are trying to tackle the situation. We will think about measures to minimise the impact if it lingers,” said Syed Md Golam Faruk, director general of secondary and higher education.
