Media reports said question paper on Bengali First paper was sold around the examination centers in the capital before the exam starts on February 1. Questions sold through facebooks and whatsapp were the same students got later in the examination halls. On February 3 questions of Bengali Second paper were similarly distributed and they were the same students were served in the halls. On February 5 a section of students got questions on English First paper at least two hours before the commencement of the exam. The story goes on raising question about the competence of the government. It appears that the system has totally broken down; the government is not capable to run public examinations and protect their integrity.
It is no secret ruling party men at critical place of the system are using their political cover to make illegal fortune. On last Saturday they not only supplied questions; answers to those questions were also supplied for the benefit of students. Breaking of examinations secrecy from within has become so easy as perpetrators who are also known to law enforcing agencies are enjoying impunity.
Media reports on Sunday said 12 syndicates controlling Dhaka Education Board are so powerful that they are running illegal business without fears. They are breaking questions for money, collecting tolls from affiliated schools and colleges to protect their undue interest, giving sanctions to new schools and colleges for money or giving allocations for MPO benefits to many. Officials close to the Education Minister are also part of the network turning the entire system into a den of corruption.
There is no rule of law and everything unlawful is now part of the system.
We are really concerned that question leakage in all public examinations is seriously undermining the education system and people’s confidence in it. But concerned officials now have become so shameless to claim that reexamination is not possible because leakage has almost come to stay. We must say there must a total cleansing operation at all levels of the Education Ministry to destroy the den of corruption before they are destroying the future of the nation.
In our view the Education Minister must resign in the first place to start the purge from the top. He speaks too much and doing nothing while sheltering corruption at all levels and unless he goes there is no way to refix the system. This is in fact the crisis at all levels of the government – high corruption and no action.
We would say please Minister go; help us save the education to save the future of the nation.
