Minister’s resignation not a solution to questions leak: Prof Zafar Iqbal

Eminent writer and educationist Professor Dr. Muhammad Zafar Iqbal said whether education minister resign or shutdown internet, is not a solution to question paper leak.  

He came up with the remark in response to the query of journalists at a programme on Tuesday in Sylhet emphasizing efforts to find key reasons behind question paper leak.

Following leaks of question papers of eighth and fifth graders last year, questions of the school-leaving SSC and equivalent exams have appeared on the social media, especially Facebook, ahead of the tests. 

Amid a wave of criticism, education minister Nurul Islam Nahid declared a bounty of Tk 5 lakh each for handing over to the authorities the criminals involved in question paper leakage on social media sites.

In 2014, the popular fiction writer and Shahjalal University Computer Science teacher staged a sit-in against the leaks of question papers in the then ongoing Higher Secondary Certificate or HSC exams.

“The administration had not admitted then that the questions leaked. Now they admit, but are not taking any effective measure,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

The government decided to virtually block all internet access for two and a half hours ahead of every SSC exam. But it had to backtrack amid public outrage.

Prof Zafar suggested the government to act fast on how it can be stopped and bring the guilty to justice.

Earlier, the government said they will dump multiple-choice questions or MCQ from public exams to tackle the issue.

“We will gradually remove the MCQ section, so there will be no scope for leaks,” State Minister for Education Kazi Keramat Ali told the parliament.