REPORTS in local dailies mentioned that the Dhaka Education Board postponed Thursday’s (10th April) Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination reportedly over question leak. The test under other boards would be held as per schedule. The test for English second paper was postponed due to “unavoidable reasons”, said Prof Taslima Begum, Chairman of Dhaka Board and Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, as per reports.Rumours of question paper leak have become a regular phenomenon during and ahead of public exams, the teacher said. Sometimes they come true and sometimes not, a teacher said on condition of anonymity, as per the report. Nazmul Hossain, a parent of an HSC examinee, said he had seen one of his neighbours get the questions via SMS. He also said the neighbour had told him that the questions for English first paper also was received via text, as per the reports. In such a situation it is normal for children to lose focus in their education as they feel that all their hard work would be in vain as some unscrupulous examinees would take advantage and cheat. This acts as a psychological barrier for students who have studied very hard and who may feel that resorting to unscrupulous means is acceptable – it is not a value to be instilled in our future leaders.How can question papers leak out-it may leak out when the papers are being composed on the computer, or when it is being printed or being transferred to and from the printers. These are simple concepts to understand and the Education Ministry should take appropriate steps to ensure that the people who are in charge of these points of interest are reliable and competent. They should not be recruited due to any political bias or due to any other consideration. Printers or composers who have a history of papers leaking should be banned from taking part in the public tenders for printing question papers for any public examination.These policies do not require a degree in rocket science or some other esoteric art – so the question remains why they are not followed. Blame must be apportioned among the top echelons – the Minister and the various Secretaries associated with the Education Board should either set up comprehensive steps to ensure that these occurrences are not repeated or resign. We are already teaching our children many things which they should not be exposed to in real life. They should not be exposed to the idea that committing fraudulent acts is an acceptable way of life.The Education Minister has promised to book the culprits – whatever mighty he/she is. We hope, the Minister will prove to be true to his words. But in a democratic rule, the ultimate responsibility rests with the leadership. We think, as people’s representative, the Minister has failed to give strong leadership. The Minister should, therefore shoulder the responsibility for the failure and thus quit.
