Writ seeking cancellation of school admission tests dismissed

Lawyer Zahid Talukder was present in court on behalf of the writ. Deputy Attorney General Noor Muhammad Azmi was present for the state. He said the court rejected the writ as not pressed.

Earlier, on October 7, Minhaj Uddin Ahmed, executive director of the Movement for Human Rights and Good Governance Foundation, filed the writ seeking cancellation of the 2027 admission tests in all schools across the country. The writ named the Education Secretary, the Secretary of Primary and Mass Education, the Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, and the Deputy Secretary of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) as defendants.

The writ petitioner's lawyer said that in the 2021 academic year, the then government introduced digital lottery instead of the examination system for admitting students from first to ninth grade in government schools across the country. However, after the BNP government came to power, it decided to cancel that system and launch admission tests in schools. Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon announced this decision at a press conference on March 16. On the same day, the Ministry of Education issued a notification regarding cancellation of the lottery system. Later, in a revised notification, it was said that admissions from second to ninth grade would be taken through examinations; however, the lottery system would remain in place for admission to first grade.