The Dhaka University authorities yesterday decided to retake tests of around 18,500 students who cleared the “Gha” unit admission tests, citing they found proof that the questions were leaked.   

The move came 10 days after the authorities had denied the leak following the exam.

The decision was made at a meeting of Deans' Committee held at the vice-chancellor's office around noon, DU VC Prof Akhtaruzzaman said at a press conference at his residence later in the day.

"As the probe body formed over the incident found proof that the question paper was leaked, we have decided to hold the admission test again for those who cleared the exam,” he said, adding the university deans also recommended holding fresh tests. 

The admission process would automatically be halted. The schedule for the fresh test and further details would be announced later.

In 2011, the university authorities had held fresh exams of “Ga” unit for 2011-2012 sessions following directives from the Supreme Court as some anomalies were found in the question paper.

The “Gha” unit admission test, held on October 12, saw a surprising pass rate of around 26 percent, which was the highest for the unit in the last five years.

Allegations of question paper leak surfaced midway through the test, although the authorities brushed off the allegation saying it was “Digital Forgery”, not question leak.

On that day around 10:30am, some campus-based journalists got the leaked question paper and instantly informed an assistant proctor of the university about it, asking him to take immediate steps.

The university authorities formed a three-member probe body the next day and asked it to submit a report within 48 hours.

On October 13, DU's Chief Security Officer SM Kamrul Ahsan filed a case with Shahbagh Police Station under sections 22 and 33 of the Digital Security Act, and the Public Examination Act.

Law enforcers also found evidence that hand-written question papers of the unit were leaked 43 minutes prior to the exam and circulated by two coaching centres in Bogura.

Later, six people, including an admission seeker and his father, were arrested in connection with the incident.

On October 16, the DU authorities published the results. However, it admitted that the question paper was leaked before the exam.

On that day, the VC also said that there was no scope for retaking the test and that they did not have any right to “play with the lives of thousands of students”.

Hundreds of students from the university protested it. One of them staged a hunger strike for taking the tests again. Chhatra League and another student platform, which recently spearheaded a movement for quota reforms in civil service, also urged the university authorities to cancel the exam and take a fresh one.

After the results came out, it came to light that the two students, who jointly stood first in the exam, had failed in the university admission test from “Ka” and “Ga” units for science and business studies groups respectively.

Jahid Hasan Akash, who had secured the first from Business Studies scoring 114.30 marks, got only 34.32 in “Ga” unit tests.

On the other hand, Tasnim Bin Alam had scored 109.50 marks and stood first from science group. She got 43.50 marks in the “Ka” unit under the Science faculty.

'BCL' ATTACK QUOTA REFORMISTS

Bangladesh Chhatra League activists yesterday allegedly attacked some quota reformists on the DU campus after they had just finished their programme demanding cancellation of the “Gha” unit exam.

Around 10 Chhatra League activists, including Ali Rimon, liberation war affairs secretary, and Soliman Hossain, deputy planning affairs secretary of Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haq Hall, swooped on the quota reformists in Milon Chattar area around 1:30pm, leaving three of them injured.

The injured -- Ratul Sarker, Faruk Hossain and Ataullah -- took primary treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Hasan al Mamun, convenor of the quota reform movement, said, “We were having discussions after our programme. All of a sudden, the BCL men started beating us saying we were 'eve teasers'”.

Rimon and Soliman were not available for comments.

Contacted, DU BCL President Sonjit Chandra Das said he would take organisational steps against the BCL men, if found guilty.