The Sylhet Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education seized nearly a sack of Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination answer scripts from a roadside tea stall late Saturday after finding them allegedly being evaluated in an unauthorised setting.
The raid was carried out around 11:30pm at a tea stall near the main gate of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) by the board's Controller of Examinations, Prof Bilkis Yasmin.
The answer scripts were recovered from Md Iqbal Hossain Sohan, a lecturer at Metro City Women's College in Sylhet and a former student of SUST's Bangla Department.
According to eyewitnesses, Iqbal had been evaluating HSC answer scripts at the tea stall with several friends from around 10:30pm. They alleged that two of his companions were also handling the scripts, which had been brought to the spot in a large sack.
Witnesses further claimed that a similar scene had been observed at the same tea stall on Friday night, when four people, including Iqbal, were seen checking answer scripts while drinking tea.
During the raid, Iqbal admitted that he was marking the answer scripts but said his friends were only helping him match code numbers because he was short of time.
"I was evaluating the scripts. As I was in a hurry, I asked them to help me match the code numbers," he told the board official.
One of those present, Ireen Linza, a former SUST student, denied having any role in the evaluation.
"I am neither a student nor a teacher here. The teacher who brought the scripts is my friend and batchmate. I have no involvement in evaluating the answer scripts," she said.
Asked about the board's next course of action, Prof Bilkis Yasmin said she was busy dealing with the matter and would comment later.
Sources said that after the answer scripts were seized, the chairman of the Sylhet Education Board arrived with police and took the accused lecturer to Jalalabad Police Station.
Officer-in-Charge Shamsul Habib of Jalalabad Police Station confirmed that the education board had lodged a General Diary (GD) over the incident.
"The board chairman came to the police station with the accused teacher. The education board filed a GD, and the teacher was handed over to the board authorities," the OC said.
The education board is expected to investigate how the HSC answer scripts were taken outside the authorised evaluation process and whether examination rules were violated.
