The question papers for the Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) examinations, which began countrywide on the first day of November, are available on several Facebook and Whatsapp groups before the examination.
The test on information and communication technology was held on Thursday, and the question paper was an exact replica of a copy that was obtained by the Bangla Tribune ahead of the exam.
Question papers of all the previous five exams that took place from November 1 to November 7 were made available in these groups at least one hour before the exam.
Several Facebook accounts claim they can provide students with the question papers from the night before the examination.
These syndicates start adding members to closed Facebook or Whatsapp groups from the afternoon before the exam date. The syndicates provided the question of Bangla first paper, the first examination that took place on November 1, for free, in order to gain the trust of the students.
From the second day, they started providing question papers in exchange for money.
When contacted, the two students who have been collecting leaked questions since the first day of the exam, said: “We commented on a Facebook post that claimed to provide exam questions on Facebook and since then, we started receiving messages from several Facebook accounts and groups.
"Initially, we did not believe them. But now it has become an addiction. We cannot concentrate on our studies without having those questions provided with answers, which can be obtained at only Tk500."
A guardian of one of these students, wishing to remain unnamed, said: “We are in a serious trouble. We understand this is wrong. But our children are not that mature; they exasperate us if we prohibit them from obtaining those questions.
"Why does the government not come up with a solution to this problem? We humbly ask the government to save our new generation.”
The question leak syndicates are taking extra measures to avert the eyes of law enforcers.
At first, they advertise on several Facebook groups and identify the interested students. After that, the students have to upload the scanned copies of their admit card in order to authenticate that they are examinees.
After verification, students are added to a closed group and provided with the different sections of the question paper as suggestions throughout the whole night before the exam.
The whole questions with answers are revealed only one hour before the exam and the examinees send Tk500 to a provided mobile number through bKash, or rocket.
After all the processes are completed, the syndicates remove the group and open another new group for the next exam.
The concerned authorities have consistently denied these allegations despite frequent media reports with strong evidence. Educationists expressed serious apprehension over the long-term consequences of this trend.
Tapan Kumar Sarker, examination controller at Dhaka Education Board, said: “We do not have any information on question leak. BTRC has been informed of the matter and they will take necessary measures.”
However, BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmud said: “We do not investigate how the question is leaked. It is the responsibility of the Education Board and the Education Ministry."
"We just shut down the link if we receive any complaint. The education board does not file any specific complaint with us," he added.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has been blaming teachers for this crime for a while now.
Executive Director Campaign for Popular Education Rasheda K Chowdhury said: “It is hard to imagine examinations nowadays without leaked questions. But the concerned people at the education ministry have been denying the allegation and the extent of the problem is increasing day by day. The government should declare question leak a criminal offence.”
The article was first published in Bangla Tribune