Grades and jobs for sale: The neverending saga of question paper leaks

After the Liberation War, there was widespread cheating in public examinations conducted in 1972 by all educational boards and universities in the country, including SSC, HSC and undergraduate levels. However, the Bangabandhu government managed to restore normalcy to the education sector within 18 months by cracking down on counterfeit practices.

Question paper leaks too are not a recent phenomenon; they trace back to as early as 1979 when question papers were first leaked during the matriculation exam. Subsequently, cheating resurged in the 1980s, disrupting the education system for the next two decades. 

In 2002, Ehsanul Haque Milon, a state minister in the BNP government, tackled the issue head-on. He introduced stringent measures, such as conducting surprise visits to exam centres using government helicopters, and swiftly dealing with cheaters, administrators, principals and invigilators. These actions were executed with minimal advance notice, even among his own companions. 

Thanks to Milon, cheating in Bangladesh's exams was on pause for a while. However, does that mean our education system has miraculously turned around for the better? 

If you sift through the local news reports from only the past week, it certainly does not paint a rosy picture. Instead, it clearly indicates that question paper leaks have continued, and there are indications of a resurgence in cheating as well. 

As the half-yearly evaluation for Class VI to IX under the new curriculum began on 3 July, questions were available online with solutions well ahead of the exams. According to reports, the questions were leaked through the web and mobile platform "Noipunno" – accessible to teachers with unique user IDs. 

Another report in Desh Rupantor revealed that approximately a thousand candidates at a remote centre in Sirajganj participated in the ongoing HSC exams by receiving solutions to the question papers through a WhatsApp group in exchange for a mere Tk2,000-5,000.

But what has been most staggering is the news reported by Channel 24 a few days ago, revealing that question papers for 30 cadre and non-cadre examinations, including BCS, were leaked, with the involvement of certain Public Service Commission (PSC) officials. 

This news took almost everyone by surprise, as it had been widely believed by many that at least PSC-controlled recruitments were conducted fairly.

According to former Inspector-General of Police Nurul Huda, the greatest threat posed by this revelation is that it erodes the public confidence in the PSC, a constitutional institution. 

"It is a bad sign for the people to lose trust in a constitutional institution. In every country, these institutions should be above all controversies for the betterment of the society," Huda told The Business Standard. 

"Question paper leak is not just a professional issue, it is not just that the unqualified candidates are getting the jobs. It reflects our society as a whole. When we see a driver working in the PSC making such a high amount of money through question paper leaks, it does not give a good signal about our society," he added. 

Additionally, the recent series of reports may well be the final nail in the coffin of our education system, highlighting that at every level, from top to bottom, question leaks have become a perennial problem. 

This raises questions about why this issue continues to persist and whether adequate measures were taken against individuals previously detained or accused of their involvement in such crimes.

What is the point of having the law if the criminals are not convicted? 

From 2009 to 2021, a total of 200 cases were registered in different police stations of Dhaka city. These cases were related to various complaints related to public examinations like SSC, HSC, university and medical college admissions, and question papers of various job recruitment exams (bank, BCS, etc). 

Out of these, 45 cases had been settled at Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court as of March 2022, according to a Prothom Alo report. In only one case, an accused was fined Tk5,000. 

In many instances, the accused were acquitted because of shortcomings in the investigation, improper filing of cases and charge sheets under incorrect laws, and failure to produce witnesses.

The Public Examinations (Offences) Act is from 1980. Under this Act, cases are filed for crimes like leaking question papers, helping candidates with books or mechanical means, giving exams on behalf of others, creating fake certificates and obstructing exams.

According to Section 4 of the Act, anyone who publishes or distributes questions prepared for a public examination before the examination shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to 10 years and no less than three years. 

In the last few years, cases have also been filed under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act for allegedly leaking question papers using digital media (devices and apps). Some cases were also filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) 2018, now replaced by the Cyber Security Act (CSA) 2023. 

Several cases among them were offences related to employment examinations, but the cases were filed under the Public Examinations (Offences) Act. Due to this, the accused were acquitted. The accused in some other cases were also acquitted due to poor preparation of the seizure list of the cases.

The outcome is no better than the cases filed under the then-DSA. In 2017, the CID filed a complaint over the allegation that Dhaka University's admission exam question papers had been leaked.  The case alleged offences under two Acts (ICT and Public Examinations).  

Following an investigation, the CID filed two charge sheets against 125 individuals under various statutes on 24 June 2019. In the ICT Act case, the complaint was filed in September 2022. Among the accused, 87 of them were Dhaka University students, all of whom were later acquitted.

To address this situation, the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) Bill 2023 was passed in parliament last year, incorporating punishment for involvement in any irregularities in any PSC examination.

According to the new law, the maximum punishment for involvement in leaking the question paper of any PSC examination will be 10 years in jail, a financial penalty or both.

But what is the point of having the law if the criminals are not convicted? Barrister Shahdeen Malik, a prominent constitutional expert, thinks that it has a lot to do with the inadequate training of the investigative officers. 

"Normally, such laws are passed from a populist motive, to appease the people. But the investigative officers are not always qualified enough. Investigating question leaks and investigating theft are totally different. The investigative officers do not get the chance to update their knowledge as new laws are passed frequently. So, passing a law and convicting criminals under them should be given equal weight," he added. 

He added that unless the laws are properly implemented, criminals will not be deterred. 

Interestingly, question leaks are not limited to Bangladesh alone. Recently, India has also been shaken by allegations of question paper leaks in the NEET-UG 2024, which is a national-level entrance exam. It has been alleged that the paper was leaked on Telegram a day before the exam. 

Later, many other such cases surfaced, and the examinees took to the streets.

Amidst this controversy, India's central government has notified a stringent law, which was passed in February, to prevent paper leaks and cheating. Under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, any person or persons found guilty of leaking a paper or tampering with answer sheets will receive a minimum jail term of three years. 

This can be extended to five years with a fine of up to Rs10 lakh. All offences under the Act will be cognisable and non-bailable. Examination service providers are also liable under the Act.

As is often the case in India, coaching centres in our country are also frequently implicated in cases of question paper leaks. Jewel Chakma, additional superintendent of police at the Cyber Police Centre of CID, said in a press conference last year that 10 coaching centres, mostly in Dhaka, had been involved in the leakages of medical admission test question papers. 

But coaching centres are involved in other examinations too, including the SSC and HSC examinations. For instance, in recent reports of HSC question leaks, the involvement of teachers from the prominent coaching centre Udvash has been alleged.

Reports suggest that leaked questions are first sent to the "boro bhais" (elder brothers) who teach at Udvash Coaching Centre in Dhaka. They solve those questions and send them back to the culprits directly involved with the leaks. 

A former instructor at Udvash, requesting anonymity, confirmed the credibility of such allegations from his personal experience. He, however, does not believe any coaching centres are part of the question leak syndicate. 

"Senior teachers at some coaching centres are well connected and motivated to be a part of the ring. I have seen many senior teachers collect question papers before exams and teach their students the solutions. 

Even I myself solved leaked questions for my students. The leaked questions used to be very easily collectable," he said.