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BITTER TRUTH

Question leakage: Genesis of the problem

MD. ASADULLAH KHAN
THE most recent incident of leakage of HSC question papers after a series of such scandals in the last SSC examinations has stunned the whole nation. The attempt of the education boards to hold both the SSC and HSC examinations peacefully after success in arresting unfair means got a severe jolt. This shows that the
process, from setting of the questions up to distributing them, lacked proper planning, security measures, efficient handling and foolproof and honest endeavour.
The boys and girls at the beginning of their career, most of them sincere in pursuit of studies, were sitting for the examination that would have given them confidence and aptitude for further exercise at higher levels of education. Understandably, when a student learns just the night before the examination that the question paper of the examination he is to appear in the next morning has been leaked out and some of his peers are making use of it, his sense of confidence and competence gets totally shattered.
It is a gross neglect of responsibility of the people at the helm of affairs in the ministry concerned and education boards not to take their share of participation and onus of burden of something that has put the credibility of the boards and image of the nation at stake. This has, at the same time, made it clear that the woefully inadequate and inept infrastructure in the education sector needs to be energised on an emergency basis.
The educational scene in the country has been in the doldrums. Both guardians and students have almost lost their confidence in the education system. Teaching and learning have, these days, become commodities for sale. Students are not learning at home with any amount of seriousness. There has been a mushroom growth of coaching centres throughout the country. There has been no let up in such businesses even though the government has imposed restrictions on such business style coaching. Students taught in these centres are not learning the basics, rather they are stuffed with suggestions and probable questions. Who knows that the centres are not engaged in an unholy alliance with other agencies, as alleged, that have access to board questions.
This year's SSC and HSC question paper leak-age suggests that there could have been pilferage: (i) from the BG Press, (ii) during transit, (iii) during storage in the treasury, thana, or bank safe vault, and (iv) unfortunately though, by the teachers and moderators who had framed the questions. It is expected that the probe body formed by the government, will identify the culprits in this scam.
Such probe bodies were formed earlier but neither were their findings made public nor was there any effort to bring the culprits to book. The result: these scandals and scams go on unabated. The menace has spread too far. A press report on June 2 said that the objective type questions in Bangla, Mathematics, and General Knowledge of the college teachers' registration exam were leaked days before the examination.
People feel that there might be links between coaching centres and some unscrupulous BG Press personnel, or that some unscrupulous BG Press personnel do it alone. They are doing a great disservice to the nation at the expense of the bigger wealth -- the bright students in the country.
Teachers in the schools want their students to be admitted in the tutorial homes which they have set up. Busy guardians and, in most cases, affluent illiterate parents feel happy and relieved by just transferring the responsibility of educating their wards to the tutorial homes, but they are hardly aware of the damage they are inflicting on their wards. They realise it only when their wards cut a sorry figure in the public examinations. Actually, the country is forging ahead in a field where many countries fear to tread: the hazardous nature of teaching that doles out modules of selected questions and their answers but does not bring about any improvement in the basics.
Teachers of schools and colleges have started coaching almost on a commercial scale, often at the expense of teaching in classrooms. The concerned ministry, without refuting the claim outright or always being in the denial mode, must look into the genesis of the problem. Allowing this racket to go on would be suicidal for the nation.
Eminent educationists in the country have pointed out the ills of the present school and college level teaching. They have rightly asserted that "if the teachers perform their duties properly in teaching the students, give them regular home tasks, take regular class tests and keep them away from private tuitions, there would be no unfair practice in the examinations." Allegations are rife that question papers are leaked out in collusion between agencies, certifi-
cates are forged and deficient students are sent up for appearing at the final examinations conducted by the boards, often in exchange of high monetary benefit. Since the ills have accumulated almost from the primary level of teaching and examination, the nation has started paying a heavy price for this gross neglect, sheer indifference and total callousness of the education planners. To stem this tide of total breakdown in the system, education planners and administrators have to work with a missionary zeal at the grassroots level. There are of course some solutions already at hand to repair the damage and stop the rot from spreading any further.
The government must either ban or enforce restrictions on the growth of coaching centres or tutorial home. Centres that want to cater education this way must apply for registration, detailing the names of the teachers, their experiences and the schools and colleges where they are teaching on a regular basis, and the number of students they are handling.
Other than a handful of qualified and efficient teachers in some schools, the country suffers from a general dearth of experienced teachers in English and Mathematics. To give education at the early stage, the government can pick some good teachers from across the country and bring them to Dhaka to give at least an hour-long lecture over TV on some selected topics of textbooks of SSC and HSC stage. This would inspire students and teachers to be more responsive in their duties. There are still some teachers who are dedicated and efficient and whose services have not been recognised by the government. Their names should be forwarded to the ministry of education by a committee comprising DC, local MPs and elites of the locality. To honour these dedicated teachers, and in recognition of their qualities of head and heart, honest endeavour and selfless services they are putting in day in and day out, they should be invited to attend state level functions like the Victory Day and Independence Day celebrations.
If we can honour our heroes in games and sports, it is no less important that some of our committed teachers who are making ceaseless effort in building the edifice of the nation should also be rewarded and honoured in some way or other. In a society torn asunder by conflict and hatred and eroding fast under the influence of wealth and authoritarian spirit, we need the idealism of such teachers to show us the path of enlightenment.
The writer is a columnist of The Daily Star.
E-mail: aukhandk@gmail.com