Did the education adviser call students ‘farm chickens’?
Did the education adviser call students ‘farm chickens?
A claim has recently spread on social media that Education Adviser A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon referred to HSC examinees seeking a postponement of exams due to rain as ‘farm chickens.’ The controversy began over an audio call recording. In the circulated audio clip, a conversation can be heard between the education adviser and a student of Dhaka City College.
A recording of the conversation has also come into the possession of Agamir Somoy. Did the adviser really call students ‘farm chickens’? Or what was the context of the audio? Agamir Somoy tried to verify the matter.
In the recording, a Dhaka City College student can be heard requesting a postponement of the examination, citing heavy rain, waterlogging and the suffering of students on the day of the ICT exam. In response, the adviser said he had held several meetings with ministry and education board officials on the issue. He also said he had used the example of his own daughter in arguing in favor of postponing the examination.
According to the recording, he told the officials that his daughter develops a fever if rainwater falls on her head, and therefore many students could also become ill if they had to sit for exams in the rain. He said he supported postponing the examination using that example.
The adviser said, “They are farm chickens. My daughter also gets a fever if rainwater falls on her head.”
Toward the end of the phone conversation, he can be heard speaking with the student in a normal tone.
He told the student, “Now go home and ask your mother to make you a hot coffee. Drink the coffee and sit down to study.”
Following the ‘farm chickens’ remark and the decision to hold HSC examinations despite the rain, HSC examinees staged protests, blockades and long marches for two consecutive days. While various programs demanding his resignation were underway, the education adviser expressed regret in Parliament. After that, the students withdrew their demand for his resignation and instead presented a six-point demand.
