11 held with leaked question papers get bail

A Chittagong court yesterday granted bail to 11 SSC examinees arrested on Tuesday with images of leaked MCQ papers of physics before the test near two exam centres in the city's Dampara.

They were caught with devices containing the leaked questions near exam centres at Bangladesh Mahila Samity High School and Police Line Institution.

On Tuesday, 24 science students were expelled. An executive magistrate caught nine of them with screenshots of the MCQ papers on mobile phones and tablet computers. Two others with answers written on their notebooks were also caught.

Two cases were lodged against the 11 examinees.

Juvenile Court Judge Jannatul Ferdaous Yesterday granted them bail rejecting the seven-day remand prayers, said Kazi Shahabuddin, assistant commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police.

The court also rejected the bail prayer of a teacher arrested yesterday. Her remand prayer will be heard today.

Shahabuddin said the court granted the bails in exchange of Tk 1 Lakh bond for each and asked their guardians to submit their statements to the court on stamps worth Tk 300.

Defence lawyer Osman Uddin said the court ordered investigation officers of the two cases to interrogate the examinees inside the court for half an hour.

“After the interrogation the court granted them bail,” said Osman.

CLASSROOM EDUCATION VANISHED

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Iqbal Mahmood yesterday said students are turning to coaching centres as classroom education has not been ensured.

"If there were education in the classroom, our children would not have gone to coaching centres. Questions would not be leaked either,” he said.

Addressing a discussion titled "Corruption Free Government Service" organised by ACC at the Chandpur Deputy Commissioner's office, Iqbal said education ministry is not only to blame for question leaks. Guardians, teachers, officials and students should also be blamed for this.

"Skill, competency and creativity of the students, who are attaining certificates this way [using leaked questions], will be destroyed,” he said.

LEGAL NOTICE

A legal notice was sent to President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, requesting them to sack Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid in 24 hours over the unstoppable spate of question paper leaks.

Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali Akond served the legal notice saying that the education minister can voluntarily resign, or the prime minister can request him to step down or the PM can advise the president to terminate the him.