The Awami League, the so called people's party and the sole agent of our spirit of independence, is again at its anti people and anti personal liberty work. Within hours of the killing of one of their leaders, the AL declared hartal without even making sure what had happened. Hundreds of thousands of HSC examinees suddenly faced uncertainty about their examinations. My son, a student of A-level, was appearing in his practical examinations at 1:30 in the morning. Some students of A-level had to sit for an examination at 8:00 clock in the morning after finishing their practical examination at 3:30 in the morning. The leaders of the AL congratulated us for making the hartal a success!! The private TV news clips have shown the extent of public support for AL agenda. Few agitated and violent female workers were the mainstay of their picketing. More leaders were present in the evening news conference than in the street in the morning. I am sure all of your readers are aware of the tensions and hard work of public examinations like HSC and A-level. I do not expect the AL leaders to know about this, as academic performance was never a strong point of our politicians.The son of our leader of the opposition has completed his studies abroad and only graces us with his presence during his holidays. I wonder if the AL leaders have thought about the effects of the present day (and more in coming days, I am sure) hartals in the minds of those thousands of examinees. After all, they are the future vote banks of our politicians.
On the day the AL leader was killed, hundreds died in a tragic launch capsize. I do not hear our politicians calling a strike to implement safety measures in the rivers. Nor do they take to the street to make our sons and daughters safe in the streets. The callousness of the AL leaders and other politicians towards the plight of the people has reached a new height. Unless we take steps to free our education from the menace of hartals, we will surely witness the complete destruction of our education system and further flight of our young people to foreign lands.
A very worried, sad and tired father,
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