Leaked JSC test questions appear on mobile phones just before exams

Some students as well as their parents search frantically for question papers leaked outside exam centres just before JSC test is to start.

Around 8:45am on Thursday, a couple of examinees standing in front of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Boys' High School were seen scrolling through something on their mobile phones.

When asked what they were looking for, the teenagers replied blatantly: “Why? Question papers!"

Just after 9am, less than an hour before the start of the test, they beamed as not only the questions but also the answers were at their hands. Parents were no less excited.

Some students wrote them down on their palms and papers.

Students of Haji Ashraf Ali High School, Lions Agragati Shikkha Niketon, Agargaon Taltola Colony High School and Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Girl’s High School are sitting the board exam at this centre.

One pupil from Haji Ashraf Ali High School told bdnews24.com: “Previously I got the questions of English paper 2, ICT, Islam and Moral Education through messenger. All of them appeared in the original question papers.”

“So, these may also come in handy,” said the student whose name has not been disclosed here.

One student was of the view that it is not useful if creative questions are leaked just an hour before exam. He seemed eager to collect multiple choice questions.

Three hours later, the bdnews24.com correspondents checked the question papers the students came out with after the end of the exam and found that they match the ones leaked on the social media.

Nilufer Akter, a guardian, was infuriated. Her son is a student of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Boys' High School.

“This is an everyday scene. Children start scrolling their mobile phones around 9am and share the questions among themselves,” she said.

One examinee said they were getting JSC questions from Technique Coaching Centre located at Dhaka’s Shewrhaparha.

“Our seniors got SSC questions from there. They got all the questions and passed with good scores. So, I am just following suit,” said a student of the coaching centre, seeking anonymity.

Some guardians asserted that the centre does provide questions to children.

A pool of excited students and parents exchanged leaked questions and wrote them down on hands outside Shaheed Police Smrity College in Mirpur.

Students said they got the questions from Facebook messenger, WhatsApp and teachers of some coaching centres.

AEM Abdul Mannan, secretary of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Boys' High School centre, said: “We open the container of question papers 15 minutes before the exam.”

The school authorities were trying their best to prevent children from cheating in the exams, he added.

“Students bring along mobile phones despite having been warned time and again. We take them away before letting them in,” said the assistant head teacher.

Earlier bdnews24.com found leaked questions of English paper 2 and Islam and Moral Education matching those in the actual exams. It informed Tapan Kumar Sarker, examinations controller of Dhaka education board, about the findings immediately.

Tapan was once again approached on Thursday.

“We have asked Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to take measures. The intelligence agencies are also working. Let’s see what happens,” he said after hearing Thursday’s situation.

He wrote down the names of the test centres and the coaching centre while speaking to bdnews24.com. He also asked bdnews24.com to cooperate to stop the crime.

The board official will visit the centres on Sunday, he added.