The cabinet yesterday rejected the primary and mass education ministry’s proposal to scrap the primary education completion (PEC) examinations. Rejecting the proposal, the cabinet said various matters like infrastructure, recruitment of teachers and training are yet to be elaborately discussed in respect of the recent extension of primary education to Class VIII. Cabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said this to journalists after a Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat.
“The Cabinet did not approve the proposal regarding the primary terminal examination in Class VIII. The proposal needs to be assessed further. So, the primary terminal examination in Class V and the junior school certificate exam in Class VIII will be held as usual,” he said. Earlier, the primary and mass education ministry had said that it does want to hold the primary terminal examination in Class V as the primary level has been extended to Class VIII. It. however, had maintained that the decision would depend on the Cabinet. The Cabinet yesterday sent back the proposal and asked for a thorough scrutiny of its various aspects. “The Cabinet has asked the ministry to place the proposal after elaborate scrutiny. The previous system of examinations in primary level will continue till a concrete decision is reached in this regard,” Shafiul Alam said. He, however, did not say when the proposal would be placed before the Cabinet again.
On May 18, primary education was extended to Class VIII as per the Education Policy of 2010. The primary and mass education ministry had decided to hold the primary  education completion examination in Class V for the last time this year, but guardians and students demanded cancellation of the primary terminal examination in that class.
The primary terminal examination in Class V started in 2009 as per the Cabinet’s decision, while the junior school certificate examination started in Class VIII. The Ebtedayee terminal examination started in 2010. Earlier, scholarships in class V were given separately, but when the terminal examinations started in primary and Ebtedayee, the scholarships were given based on students’ results. The Guardians’ Forum in the capital gave the government an ultimatum to cancel the primary terminal examinations in Class V by July 10. The primary and mass education ministry told journalists on June 21 that it does not want to hold the primary terminal examinations in Class V, but the Cabinet would eventually decide on the issue. Ziaul Karim Dulu, president of the Guardians’ Association, told The Independent that repeated changes in the government’s decision were not desirable and such changes were tantamount to deception. “There is no value of Class V certificate. This exam is unleashing repression on students. We’ll urge the government to cancel the Class V exams immediately. We hope the Cabinet will give its nod in this respect at the next meeting,” he said. He said the guardians would continue their human chain programme on July 20 to press for their demand. He also said they would sit after Eid-ul-Fitr to decide the next course of action and, if necessary, they would not send children for such examinations.