HSC examinees get wrong question paper in Gaibandha centre

GAIBANDHA, July 2: A serious allegation has emerged that at the Fulchhari Government Degree College centre in Gaibandha, regular HSC examinees were made to take their exams using question paper meant for irregular students. 

Due to such extreme negligence and mismanagement by the centre authorities, the futures of 25 examinees now hang in the balance. This incident has caused profound anxiety, concern, and anger among the affected students and their parents. Police have been deployed on the centre premises to bring the situation under control.

According to local and centre sources, the incident occurred on Thursday, the first day of the HSC examinations, which began simultaneously across the country, in two rooms at the Fulchhari Government College centre. In those two rooms, the invigilating teachers inadvertently distributed the Bengali First Paper question papers from the syllabus for irregular students to the regular examinees seated there. The examinees completed their tests as per the normal procedure and left the centre. However, after the exam ended, when they compared their written question papers with those of their fellow students, the students and parents confirmed that they had been tested on the wrong syllabus.

Inquiries reveal that approximately 25 regular examinees from Udayan Women's Degree College in Saghatta Upazila and Burail Model School and College in Fulchhari Upazila fell victim to this gross negligence.

Expressing their outrage, the examinees said, "We were made to take the exam on completely wrong question papers without our knowledge. If the Education Board cancels these answer scripts, our results will be in grave jeopardy today." One affected parent, with tearful eyes, said, "Due to such a careless mistake by the centre, an entire valuable year of our children's lives could be lost. We strongly condemn this incident and demand justice through a fair investigation."

Meanwhile, once the news broke, parents and local residents gathered on the college premises and staged protests. Upon receiving the information, a team from the Fulchhari Police Outpost quickly arrived at the scene to bring the situation under control. Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mashiur Rahman of the Fulchhari Outpost stated, "Police are working to maintain law and order. The situation is currently completely under control."

When asked about the gross mismanagement, the Principal of Fulchhari Government Degree College and Centre Secretary S. M. Asadul Islam, adopted a somewhat evasive tone, saying, "Regardless of which question paper the exam was taken on, the answer scripts will be evaluated based on that question paper. The students have nothing to fear. I have already spoken to the Education Board regarding this matter."

However, District Secondary Education Officer Md. Ataur Rahman has termed the center secretary's statement as completely frivolous. He stated sternly, "The full responsibility for conducting the exam on the wrong question paper lies with the centre secretary. The Education Board has clear directives that irregular students must always be seated in separate rooms. Additionally, it is mandatory to properly verify and check the question papers just before distribution. It will be investigated why these directives were not followed, and action will be taken."