Over 18,000 students who passed the controversial “Gha” unit entrance exam for Dhaka University (DU) will be made to resit the test following widespread allegations of question paper leaks.
DU authorities took the decision during a meeting of the Dean’s committee held in the vice-chancellor’s office at around 12pm on Tuesday afternoon.
Vice-Chancellor Dr Md Akhtaruzzaman said a total of 18,463 students who passed the test will take part in the new exam. However, those who failed will not be able to retake the exam.
The “Gha” unit admission test took place on October 12. The results published four days later revealed a surprisingly high pass rate of around 26% - the highest for this unit in the last five years.
Following widespread condemnation of the results, the university acknowledged that the question paper must have been leaked prior to the exam.
Law enforcement agencies also found evidence that the hand-written question paper for the “Gha” unit admission test was leaked 43 minutes prior to the exam, and was circulated by two admission information centres in Bogra.
Six people, including an admission-seeker and his father, were arrested in connection with the incident.
Protests
Tuesday’s announcement follows sustained protests by students against the perceived damage done to the integrity of the “Gha” unit admission test.
On Monday around 11am, Bangladesh Chhatra League DU unit organized a silent protest-rally and submitted a memorandum to the VC demanding that the test be taken again.
Bangladesh General Students' Rights Protection Council – the platform that has been spearheading the quota reform movement – also held a protest rally and threatened the authority to lock all the departments on Wednesday if an announcement was not made by Tuesday regarding the retest.
The scale of the protests prompted the university authorities to assign a probe body to investigate the alleged test paper leaks.
Chhatra League ‘attacks quota reformists’
Bangladesh Chhatra League activists allegedly attacked the quota reformists in the campus premises after their respective programs against the Gha unit admission test.
At around 1.30pm, as many as 10 Chhatra League leaders and activists reportedly swooped on quota reformists who had gathered in Milon intersection area to discuss the question paper leak of DU.
The attack left injured at least three joint conveners of the quota reformation platform: Ratul Sarker, Faruk Hossain, and Ataullah.
According to a witness, Liberation War Affairs Secretary Ali Rimon, Deputy Planning Affairs Secretary Soliman Hossain of Shaheed Sergent Zahurul Haq Hall unit Chhatra League, and Deputy Freedom Fighter and Research Affairs Secretary Rafid Nafi of Bangabandhu Hall unit launched the attack on the quota protesters.
Hasan al Mamun, convener of the platform, said: “Chhatra League men suddenly attacked us when we were talking after a procession demanding the cancelation of DU Gha unit admission test. We do not understand why they attacked us.
“Such kind of attack on university students in the campus is never acceptable. We hope Chhatra League will take actions against the attackers.”
DU unit Chhatra League President Sanjit Chandra Das said he had not been informed about the alleged attack.
“If such incident took place, we will take organizational step against them,” he said.
