'Can anything be done?': Education minister says parents sought undue favours for medical college hopefuls

Mohibul Hassan urges parents not to brazenly abandon their moral values by seeking exam paper leaks

Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury has revealed that numerous parents sent him text messages seeking 'unscrupulous benefits' for their children in the medical college admission test.

The revelation came as over 2 million students nationwide began taking their SSC and equivalent exams on Thursday.

Breaking from tradition, Mohibul held a media briefing at the International Mother Language Institute instead of visiting an exam centre.

During the briefing, he lamented the 'unfortunate' behaviour of some parents, urging them not to abandon their moral principles.

The MBBS enrolment exam was held across the country on Feb 10.

Responding to questions about the perennial issue of question paper leaks, he said, "This year, I have received a bunch of texts from parents asking if I can do something to help their children clear the exam. Some even specified the roll numbers of their children."

"Where has our sense of right and wrong gone? This is a matter of shame for us. If this is the example parents set, what lessons are we teaching our children?"

Addressing concerns over question paper leaks surrounding the SSC exams, Mohibul said, “Some groups, driven by political motives, spread rumours questioning the government's effectiveness during exams. Others attempt to scam people by promising leaked exam questions in exchange for money. However, there have been no actual leaks."

"Such incidents can occur at any moment, and we are keeping a watchful eye on the situation. We're not claiming it's impossible, but should it happen, we will take strict action."

EXAM SCHEDULE MAY CHANGE

As public exams usually begin at 10 am, the minister was also asked if the timing of the tests would be changed due to the overlap with office hours.

But Mohibul indicated that exam schedules are unlikely to be altered, considering the midday break and prayer times.

“However, the exam timings may change when tests under the new curriculum begin."