The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has managed to apprehend a sophisticated gang that specialised in leaking question papers for both public examinations and recruitment tests. Nine people have been arrested that include school teachers and government officials. Going by a report printed in this paper on August 10, the gang has so far earned Tk 10 crore from clients, where dozens have passed public service commission examinations and made it to government jobs and banks. The CID must be congratulated in breaking up this syndicate prior to the upcoming BCS preliminary examinations that are due to start next week.

One member was caught red handed with BCS question papers and Tk 60,000. We know from preliminary investigations that the gang members used electronic devices to capture images of exam papers and pass them on to outside parties just hours before examinations started and candidates paid anywhere between Tk 100,000 to Tk 2 million for this information. That this gang has operated with impunity for the last five or six years lends credence to reports we have covered over the last few years.

We need to change students' dependence on rote learning. Educationists believe that the only when we can break out of this vicious cycle is by making textbooks creative that encourage students to think independently. Then prospective exam takers will have little need for short cuts. Teachers should cover the whole syllabus in school and make learning an interesting experience which makes lessons participatory and student-friendly. There is no alternative to education reform and unless we start making these changes, these leaks will always be there.