Bangladesh medical students start street protests, demand online classes

Students of government and private medical colleges in Bangladesh have staged a protest at Shahbagh, demanding online classes as an alternative, as they refuse to sit for exams amid the coronavirus crisis.

Online classes will open a path to complete their academic courses in time and end the academic session jam, they said.

Hundreds of students occupied Shahbagh intersection on Sunday, disrupting traffic. Some vehicles moved slowly through the nearby alley only.

Earlier in the day, the students formed a human chain at the Central Shaheed Minar and brought out a procession that ended at Shahbagh.

The Directorate of Health Services decided to hold the first, second and third professional exams in the medical colleges in the last week of December. The students, however, declined to sit for the exams until the coronavirus pandemic ebbs. 

Attending the exams when the country is heading into a second wave of coronavirus cases will put their lives at risk, the students said.

Under the circumstances, the authorities must start online classes for the next level as an alternative to physical classes in order to ensure the students complete their academic courses in time.

According to the provisions set by Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council, the students must pay tuition fees for 60 months during their study.

In that case, the authorities in private medical colleges will make them pay the entire amount despite the academic classes being stopped, and they will charge the students again for the extra classes later.

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