Students of various nursing institutions under Rajshahi Medical University on Saturday continued their demonstrations demanding their postponed examinations to be taken immediately.
Over 200 students gathered in front of the office of the RMU exam controller and observed a sit-in at 11:00am to press home their demand.
Later, they marched towards Saheb Bazar zero point area where they held a symbolic examination and announced symbolic results in front of the Rajshahi Press Club. They were also seen drinking 鈥榮ymbolic poison鈥� in support of their demand.
Meanwhile, at least 11 protesting students fell sick and were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital due to severe heat during the symbolic examinations.
Dr Sankar K Biswas, in-charge of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital鈥檚 emergency department, said that the condition of the admitted students were normal.
Raihan Ali, a student of Rangpur Nursing College, alleged that due to the indifferences and negligence of the RMU authorities, they were lagged behind by one and a half years than those under other medical universities in the country.
He also said that the final examination of 2019-20 sessions at the nursing institutes under Dhaka University and Sylhet University was completed in March and May respectively.
鈥楢mid student protests in July, the RMU authorities announced to hold our final examinations from September 07. The RMU vice-chancellor Professor AZM Mostaque Hossain, however, postponed the scheduled examination on September 1, and resigned from his post on Monday,鈥� he said, adding that the crisis deepened after exam controller Professor Anwar Habib stepped down following the VC鈥檚 resignation.
Raihan Ali said that they would not be able to take part in the six-month internship if their examinations were not held by September. 鈥楢nd without having the results by September, we will not be able to participate in the nursing registration exam scheduled to be held in March next year,鈥� he added.
The students urged the health ministry鈥檚 intervention to take their scheduled examinations and publish results within September 2024.
They also demanded stopping collecting extra form fill-up fees in private nursing colleges, reducing exam result challenge fees from Tk 5000 to Tk 1000, and allowing private nursing students to do internships at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
Rajshahi Medical College principal Professor Khandakar Md Faisal Alam, who talked to the protesting students, said that there was no legal way to take the examinations until a vice-chancellor was appointed to the university.
He said that he talked with the officials at the education ministry and hoped that a VC would shortly be appointed to the medical university.