TO the surprise of the nation question paper leakage of primary school students from class 1 to 1V has taken over this time such practice at upper levels. These questions are not only sold locally but also available in facebook as the government is keeping mum while the minister is blaming teachers and staff for the illegal practice. What is noticeable is that the government inaction is making the holding any public examination impossible from JSC, SSC, HSC, Medical Admission test, University Admission test, BCS and even any other departmental test for recruitment or promotion.
Admission test and such other public examination is a lucrative business in which party men are involved and they even use electronic devices now to make the system perfect. But going down to primary school level, the question leakage in fact is posing the biggest threat to destroy the very foundation of our education system and the perpetrators in that case seem to be more powerful than the government in power.
Media reports explicitly exposed that question papers of classes II-IV have been leaked in Munshiganj and for students of class-I in Barguna district recently. We must say that the education ministry is proving helpless to stop it and its ineptness to handle the menace skillfully making it easier for people engaged in leaking to run their business unabated. It is not enough for the minister and the ministry to take the responsibility, they must tell the nation how long will such illegal practice continue because party cadres are involved and they can’t be held under bar. The fact is that if such people are arrested and put on jail, other party men immediately secure their bail while the cases get lost over time.
In Barguna, as the question paper for class-I students were leaked the authorities concerned had to postpone the final tests on “Paribesh Parichiti” of Class-I and “Bangladesh O Biswa Parichay” of Class-IV in all 248 primary schools of Sadar upazila after parents downloaded leaked questions from facebook. The tests were scheduled for December 17. The authorities also had to cancel this year’s English final test for Class-IV. The DC Munshiganj on Tuesday had to postpone tests for Class-II and Class-IV at 119 schools after the question papers had been leaked.
It is highly annoying that children, who have not grown up mentally, are being subjected to corrupt process. Nothing could be more frightening than that. These shocking incidents are taking place as we have failed to stop corruption in running our education system, though the government is claiming success at all levels. When Education Minister expresses helplessness we in fact lose all hopes. We must say a nation can’t fail; it must survive. If the government fails it must pave the way for another government. But surrendering to question leakage with impunity for those responsible for it can’t be acceptable. It must change.
