153 held over question leaks since Feb 1, says education minister

Law-enforcement agencies have arrested 153 people in 52 cases filed on alleged question leaks since the start of Secondary School Certificate exams on Feb 1, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has said.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 23 Feb 2018, 09:49 AM
Updated : 23 Feb 2018, 09:49 AM

“I would like to request teachers and parents to step forward to identify those who create hurdles to exams and hand them over to police,” Nahid said at the awards ceremony of the ninth National Debate Competition in Dhaka on Friday.

In the debate competition this year, Barisal’s Rashed Khan Menon High School has stood out as the champion. Sunamganj’s Ishakpur Public High School has emerged as the runner-up.

Admitting that his ministry was yet to get to the bottom of the question leaks, Nahid said: “It is not in our hands, the law enforcers have to carry out the task.

“We are trying our best. We have made some changes for the forthcoming HSC exams.”

This year’s SSC exams have been no different from last year’s JSC and PEC exams also marred with question leaks.

Students have been repeatedly found reading leaked questions on their smartphones standing outside the centres before start of the exams.

The trend remained unabated despite a Tk 500,000 reward announced by Minister Nahid for anyone leading police to perpetrators.

Social media apps, especially Facebook messenger, are hubs of leaked questions. Different groups regularly uploaded advertisements luring students for questions, particularly the multiple choice questions.

In the face of severe criticism from different quarters, the government recently reversed its plan to suspend internet connections for at least two hours before the start of the tests.

The ministry has listed 300 mobile phone numbers it claims have been in use for the leaks. Police efforts are ongoing to nab the users.

The government formed a special committee on Feb 4 to decide on remedies to the endemic question leaks.

The committee led by Technical and Madrasah Education Md Alamgir has claimed that the full set of questions of only one exam has leaked. In other exams, it was only a few questions that leaked.

About 150,000 people are involved in the process of setting and printing questions, said Nahid. “The disaster follows in when one of them gets into corruption.”

The ministers, secretary and chairmen of boards do not get to see the questions, asserted Nahid. 

“Technology is an asset but it creates some hassles as well. We are getting the examinees inside halls half an hour before the exams. We have ordered authorities to open the envelope exactly half an hour before the tests. Still some people are leaking them.”

Citing a recent question-answer session with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Nahid said: “Some journalists claimed that questions are leaked 20 minutes ahead of the exams. May be it is not that harmful but still not acceptable.”

Secondary and Higher Education Secretary Sohrab Hossain claimed that some people were brutally attacking him and the minister over the matter.

No-one can come up with a guarantee that no questions will leak under the present system. Some reforms need to be made, he added.