Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid yesterday said there was no instruction from the government to give higher scores to the candidates of public examinations to improve the rate of success.

“You [examiners] will check the answer script and evaluate properly. We are not under any kind of pressure over the number [of successful candidates] going up or down. We too don't want to put pressure,” he told reporters at a press briefing at the secretariat ahead of the upcoming SSC and equivalent exams.

The minister's comments came at a time when leading academics and educationists are  questioning the quality of education although pass rates in public examinations are on the rise.

Whenever results of any public exam are out, allegations that the authorities had asked examiners of public examinations beforehand to give candidates higher scores surface in the media, he said.

This is actually not based on facts, Nahid said.

 He said the examiners were asked to check the answer scripts properly. As they check the scripts manually, there might have difference in marks.

“Through you [the media], I am telling all examiners and people involved in the exams' process that there is no such instruction to give higher scores to students. You definitely will not give lower marks as well. The examinees should get the marks they deserve,” he said.

Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations begins tomorrow with 16,51,523 students taking the tests from 28,119 educational institutions across the country.

This year the number of examinees rose by more than 1.72 lakh. Written tests will be held from February 1 to March 8, while the practical ones from March 9 to March 14.

Nahid said a total of 8,42,933 boys and 8,08,590 girls will appear in the SSC and equivalent examinations at 3,143 centres under 10 education boards.

Of them, 13,04,274 students will sit for the SSC exams under eight general education boards, while 2,48,865 students will appear in Dakhil (secondary level of madrasa) examinations, and 98,384 in SSC vocational exams, he said.

Seven children with autism and down syndrome will take the tests for the first time this year and they will be allowed an extra 30 minutes. They will also be allowed to be accompanied by their parents or teacher in the exam rooms, said Nahid.

He said students with disability will also get 20 minutes extra times.

About question paper leakage, Nahid said they had taken all necessary measures and that there was no scope for leakage of question papers this year.

He said the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) would take actions against anyone trying to create confusion by uploading fake questions papers on Facebook.

For the first time this year, exams on multiple-choice question (MCQ) would be held first and after a 10-minute break, exams on creative questions will be held. The decision has been taken following allegations that some teachers collect answers of multiple-choice questions from outside to supply students, he said.