Questions Had to Be Reprinted Three Times on Night Before HSC Exams: Education Minister

PNN News Desk | Dhaka

Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon has said that question papers for three subjects in this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations had to be printed three times on the night before the respective exams. He also said authorities were identifying long-standing weaknesses and opportunities for irregularities at different stages of question-paper management, answer-script evaluation and result publication.

The minister made the remarks on Saturday, October 31, while responding to questions from journalists at a press conference following the publication of this year’s HSC and equivalent examination results at the Secretariat.

Describing the experience of this year’s examinations, Milon said question papers for three subjects had to be printed separately throughout the night before the examinations and then dispatched to the relevant centres. According to him, such an incident had never occurred before in the history of Bangladesh.

Speaking about weaknesses in the examination system, the minister said problems existed at various levels, from education board management to examiners and question-paper handling. The authorities were working to identify whether irregularities had taken place by taking advantage of these weaknesses and would take action accordingly.

He said authorities had found incidents in which multiple-choice question papers were replaced at some examination centres. There had also been attempts to alter examination results in certain cases. Some of these incidents had already been identified, while the remaining cases would also be investigated, he added.

However, the minister did not provide details at the press conference about which education boards had experienced incidents involving the replacement of question papers or answer scripts, how many irregularities had been detected, or what measures had been taken against those involved.

Expressing optimism about resolving the long-standing problems, Milon said weaknesses at different stages of the examination system were being identified. He hoped that the issues would be addressed gradually after being properly examined.