DHAKA: The government has rescheduled Junior School Certificate (JSC) and equivalent examinations for the countrywide shutdown enforced by Jamaat-e-Islami.

The examinations, earlier scheduled to be held on November 2 and 3, now, have been rescheduled to be held on November 7 and 14 respectively.

Education Secretary Nazrul Islam Khan made the disclosure in a press conference in city’s Minto Road on Thursday.

The examination of JSC’s Bangla 1st paper and Junior Dakhil Certificate’s (JDC) Quran Mazid and Tazbid was scheduled to be held on Sunday (November 2) which will be held on November 7.

Another examination of JSC’s Bangla 2nd Paper and JDC’s At-Tawhid Walfiqah, Akaeed and Fikah was scheduled to be held on Monday (November 3), will be held on November 14.

Nazrul Islam Khan said, “We have declared the examination schedule so that the candidates can take part in the examination safely.”

He added: “We also expected that the hartal would be withdrawn for the sack of the examinees. But, now, we have rescheduled the dates for the safety of some 2,100,000 candidates.”

However, a total of 2,090,692 candidates will participate in the examinations. Of them, 1,764,595 candidates will sit for JSC and other 302,697 candidates for JDC examinations.

Dhaka Education Board ex-chairman Taslima Begum and newly appointed chairman Dilara Hafiz were also present at the press meet.

On Wednesday, Jamaat-e-Islami called the hartal for Thursday; Sunday and Monday minutes after International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) awarded death penalty to its chief Motiur Rahman Nizami for his involvement in crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

BDST: 2040 HRS, OCT 30, 2014