Question leaks have not been reported on the third day of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exams.
On Thursday, twelfth-graders across the country took the tests for the English paper I from 10am to 1pm.
Following leaks of question papers of eighth and fifth graders last year, questions of this year’s Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent exams have appeared on the social media ahead of the tests.
Just like the case during the previous public exams, several Facebook pages and closed groups of WhatsApp, over the last few days, are assuring the unscrupulous candidates of providing the leaked question paper again
After spreading the leaked question papers of the first SSC test this year on the internet, scammers are now taunting the education authorities on Facebook pages with similar leaks in the next exam.
Some of them have even asking for money for leaked questions.
Adverts for questions of the English paper I were rampant on these social media groups since Wednesday night and some circulated purported questions ahead of Thursday’s test, but did not match with the questions.
“So far three tests have been held and no incident of a question has been reported,” Dhaka Education Board’s Exam Controller Tapan Kumar Sarker told Bangla Tribune on Thursday.
More than 1.3 million students are taking part in the exams, which started from Monday, at 2,541 centres in Bangladesh and abroad.
The theoretical exams are scheduled to end on May 5 while the practical exams have been scheduled between May 16 and 25.
Against the backdrop of harsh criticism over the question leaks in recent years, the education ministry decided to set the questions for the HSC and equivalent exams by lottery 25 minutes prior to the exams to prevent the leaks.
The envelopes containing the question papers are sealed off with a security tape to prevent any kind of pilferage before sending out to the centres.
Similar to the SSC exams, students are required to enter the exam centres 30 minutes prior to their HSC exams.
The education ministry says the new measures have stopped questions from leaking.