Weird solution to question leak
The government considers holding public exams without any gap excepting public holidays in efforts to check question paper leaks.
The committee formed by the education ministry to investigate the question paper leaks during this year's Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations suggested changing the system of holding public exams over a long period with significant gaps between two exams.
The education boards should plan two exams a day or at least one without any interval excepting public holidays, it said in a report submitted to Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid on Sunday.
Meanwhile, some guardians expressed concern over the recommendations.
"Save the talented ones, general students are not accustomed to taking two exams a day. It would be a huge pressure on them," said Nasima Akhter, whose child is studying in class-VIII in a city school.
Even if the government considers this a way to check question paper leaks, it will not end the problem as the committee failed to identify who had leaked the question papers and how, she said. "The students would be in trouble."
At a press briefing at the Secretariat office, the education minister concurred with the recommendations of the seven-member high-powered committee led by Additional Secretary Sohrab Hossain, which was formed on April 10, a day after the Dhaka board postponed the English second paper exam receiving reports of question leaks.
"We will bring changes to the examination method,” Nahid said.
The press conference was organised to disclose the findings of the committee probing the leaks of English-II question paper of this year's HSC exams under the Dhaka board.
The probe body could not find out the specific source of the leaks or indentify the people involved. It, however, found leaks of mathematics part-II question paper of the Dhaka Education Board.
It suggested printing the question papers in presses other than the Bangladesh Government Press, increasing the penalty in the Public Examinations (offences) Act 1980 (amended 1992) act, and lessening the number of subjects in the public exams.
"It would not be possible to hold tests over one and a half months,” Nahid said.
"We used to take two exams a day in our times.... We'll definitely change the way examinations are held [now]."
Nahid added that the ministry would accept the probe body's suggestions and opinions of relevant people before making any change to the examination method.
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