WITH a view to stopping question paper leakage, the Education Ministry has directed to keep all coaching centres closed during SSC and equivalent examinations slated to begin on February 2. The latest instruction came on Sunday from a meeting of the National Monitoring and Law Enforcers’ Committee of the Education Ministry. It is alleged that a number of coaching centres in connivance with school teachers, Ministry officials and vested quarters leak the question papers every year in a systematic way. It’s a lucrative business indeed for them.
Elaborating the precautionary measures, the newly appointed Education Minister said question papers will be sent to the centers in a special kind of aluminum packet. It is decided that only exam centre secretaries will be allowed to use cell phones — not smart phones — at the centers. As in previous exams, all candidates will have to be seated at their respective centers 30 minutes prior to the test. The government is taking these measures as the last year’s SSC exams witnessed a spate of question paper leaks.
Law enforcement agencies arrested over 153 people, including at least 10 teachers, for their alleged involvement in question leak and 53 cases were filed in this regard, during and after SSC exams. Not only SSC question papers are being leaked regularly but also question papers of HSC, JSC and other competitive recruitment tests, including BCS, are being leaked regularly. The relevant authorities’ step in stopping question leakage was neither enough nor steady to salvage the drowning education system.
It’s a noble initiative by the incumbent Education Minister, no doubt. But it’s not an easy task. Her predecessor had also took several attempts to stop the bad practice, but apparently failed. We know, leaking and distribution of question paper is a punishable offence under the country’s existing law. The authorities concerned must take hard-line against the culprits to stop the leakage forever. We don’t want to see the recurrence of it.
