DCU students wrote exams by candlelight after four hours without power

Examinees at the Kabi Nazrul Government College centre of Dhaka Central University (DCU) had to sit their exams by candlelight and in intense heat because there was no electricity. Students of Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College suffered badly. They had to take the exam for four straight hours without power.

The incident occurred at noon on Monday (November 9) during the DCU honours first-year final examination at the Kabi Nazrul Government College centre in the capital.

With no electricity at the college for a long time, examinees struggled to read the question paper and write their answers. Candles were arranged only after three hours, and even then they had to finish the exam in that light amid various complications.

Md Hafiz, a student of the 2024-25 session of the economics department of Suhrawardy College, said he saw on arrival at Kabi Nazrul College that there was no electricity. They had a microeconomics exam. At first he thought the power would return shortly, but as time passed it did not.

He said the intense midday heat made them suffer greatly. Even after the teachers were informed, they could do nothing. It was so dark inside the room that even reading the question paper properly was a problem. Those with eyesight problems suffered even more. Reading in the dark also brought on headaches. Candles were arranged after about three hours, and in the end they had to write their answers in the faint candlelight.

Samia, a student of the same department and session who sat the same exam, said there had been no electricity since the exam began. Her seat was towards the back, so she could see nothing in the dark. When she told the teacher, he said, "I have informed the senior teachers. What more can I do?"

She said that by around 1:30 pm the situation had become so bad that she could not see anything properly. Even doing calculations on a calculator was difficult. After the examinees repeatedly informed the teachers, at one point the teacher turned on his phone light, but that too did not give enough light, and finally candles were brought in.

On one side there was intense heat, and on the other nothing could be seen properly. Altogether, the situation in the examination hall was against them, Samia said.

The students alleged that even at such an important time as an examination, adequate alternative lighting had not been arranged at the start. That created obstacles in reading questions, doing calculations and writing answers in the normal way.

The examinees demanded that uninterrupted power supply be ensured at examination centres in future to avoid such situations. They also called for alternative lighting arrangements to be kept ready so they can be deployed quickly in case of a power outage.

Several attempts were made to reach Professor Mohammad Habibur Rahman, principal of Kabi Nazrul Government College, by phone, but he could not be contacted.

Professor Dr Lutfor Rahman, vice-chancellor of Dhaka Central University, was also contacted by mobile phone, but his statement could not be obtained.