PM Hasina suggests shorter test period to stop question leaks

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has appreciated a new method used in this year’s HSC exams to prevent question leaks and suggested reducing the exam time.

Reduced exam time will provide a respite from ‘rumour and propaganda’ while it will enable students to pay more attention to studies, she said.

The prime minister shared her thoughts when Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid handed over a summary of HSC results to her at Ganabhaban on Thursday.

The pass rate of HSC and equivalent exams has fallen to 66.64 percent this year from 68.91 percent a year ago.

A total of 29,262 students achieved a GPA of 5.0, compared to 37,969 in 2017.

For several years, the education sector had been beset with question leaks that often surfaced on the social media networks. But this year passed without any allegation of leaks.

“There was a criticism of question paper leaks. But Bangladesh is not the only country that faced question leaks. Many other countries are experiencing it due to digitisation. Digitisation has advantages and, sometimes, disadvantages too,” Hasina said.

“The exam method used this year is an excellent system. Examinees went to halls half an hour prior to the exams, and only 25 minutes before the tests, examiners were informed about which set of questions would be distributed. It prevented students from adopting dishonest means,” she said.

“Why would students copy answers if they can secure good results with some time on study?”

Hasina thanked teachers as well as officials of the education boards and the education ministry for publishing HSC results within 55 days of the exama.

She requested teachers and officials to reduce the exam time.

“When we sat for exams, we had two tests per day—one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. It took only seven days to finish the exams with 10 papers at the time—almost in the blink of an eye,” said Hasina, now 71.

She also urged those students who failed the exams to start preparing for the next round and not to lose confidence. “You’ll be successful if you study from now on.”

Hasina urged parents and guardians not to scold those who did not do well in exams but to find the reason behind their result.

She said education is the biggest asset for students—something that cannot be taken away. “You’ll be able to have a great life if you have proper education.”