An SSC examination was conducted using the wrong question set at a school centre in the capital on the first day of the exams, with the examination controller saying the mistake occurred inadvertently.
The incident took place on Tuesday at centre number 2 of Ekramunnesa Boys’ High School in Rampura. Another centre at the same venue conducted the exam with the correct question set.
Under the Dhaka Education Board, the Bangla First Paper written exam was scheduled to be held with set number 1. However, at the boys’ building of Ekramunnesa School, students at centre number 2 sat for set number 3 instead. A total of 760 candidates took the exam there.
Following the incident, the school’s headteacher and centre secretary Mizanur Rahman Hawlader has been relieved of his examination duties.
In a notice, the headteacher said students would not be affected by the error. “The answer scripts of the candidates will be evaluated according to set number 3, and they will not face any disadvantage.”
However, candidates and guardians remain unconvinced.
Students realised the discrepancy while discussing questions with peers from other schools after the exam. Many told TIMES of Bangladesh they were unable to sleep due to anxiety.
Candidate Tawfin Ahmed told TIMES of Bangladesh, “After returning home and analysing the questions, we realised we had taken the exam under a different set. Compared to set number 1, set number 3 was relatively more difficult.”
Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board Examination Controller SM Kamal Uddin Hyder described the incident as a serious case of negligence. “A letter has been sent to the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education recommending departmental action against the centre secretary,” he said.
He said that students’ results would not be affected, adding that answer scripts would be assessed according to the set they received. He also said the scripts from the affected centre were separated before being mixed with others once the mistake came to light.
How the mistake occurred
Centre secretary Mizanur Rahman Hawlader admitted that the wrong question papers were distributed due to carelessness.
He said he had gone to check a CCTV-related issue on another floor before the exam began, during which another teacher, Saiful Islam, distributed the question papers.
Under regulations, the centre secretary is responsible for distributing the question papers.
According to procedure, two separate sealed sets of question papers are sent to each centre. For the Bangla exam, sets number 1 and number 3 were delivered. The designated set is confirmed via an SMS before the exam, after which the centre secretary is required to open the corresponding sealed packet.
On the day, an SMS instructed that set number 1 be used. The centre secretary separated that packet, but it was opened by another teacher.
Saiful Islam told TIMES of Bangladesh, “As the two packets were placed side by side, I mistakenly opened and distributed set number 3 in the presence of two colleagues. The centre secretary was in another room resolving a CCTV issue. After returning, he also participated in distributing the papers.”
The centre secretary said he did not verify the set after seeing the packet had already been opened. “It was my responsibility to open the packet. As the exam time was approaching, they opened it. I did not instruct anyone to do so, but as centre secretary the responsibility lies with me. I should have checked the set afterwards,” he said.
Near miss at another centre
A similar mistake occurred the same day at Kanchpur Omar Ali High School centre in Sonargaon, Narayanganj, where the wrong question papers were initially distributed. However, the issue was identified about an hour into the exam and the papers were promptly withdrawn.
Centre secretary Matin Sarkar of Omar Ali High School has also been relieved of his duties. Candidates at that centre were given an additional one and a half hours to complete the exam.
