The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has blamed question paper leaks for a gradual morass in the education system. An ACC report said the leaks of question papers was due to the probable nexus between coaching centres, fraudulent teachers and different criminal gangs, and some corrupt officials of the education board, BG Press, Treasury and examination centres. The youths were the worst sufferers of the menace, it added. ACC commissioner Dr Nasiruddin Ahmed yesterday presented the report to education minister Nurul Islam Nahid at a view-exchange meeting in the Secretariat. The report was prepared by the anti-corruption watchdog’s “Education related Organisational Team” formed with the purpose to curb corruption in education system.

The education minister said his ministry was committed to working with the ACC to curb irregularities in the education system. The ACC has presented at least 39 recommendations pertaining to question paper leaks, coaching centres, notes and guidebooks, monthly pay order (MPO)-listed private

educational institutes and the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCBT).

“The ACC report on education is time-befitting. Many of its recommendations are under our scanner. We’ll remove the problems with the cooperation of ACC,” the minister said.

“There are unethical practices in every segment of society. But when a father hunts around for leaked question papers for his wards, it’s really disturbing,” he added.

The minister blamed a section of dishonest teachers for question paper leaks.

“We’ve got various suggestions to curb such leaks. We’ve got recommendations to print questions just half an hour before holding exams. But when we found that some teachers are also involved in the menace, it’s unwise to print questions half an hour before,” he said.

Nahid also accused a section of teachers of being involved in private coaching instead of teaching in classrooms.

On his part, the ACC commissioner presented various irregularities and problems in the education system.

Nasiruddin put a poser to the director general of Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) as to why the teachers who were posted in Dhaka for years were not being transferred.

Besides, he questioned the chairman of the NCTB about various irregularities, including tenders for printing books.

About combating question paper leaks, the ACC recommended that intelligent, honest and morally upright teachers should be recruited to the committee for formulating question papers. Moreover, the persons appointed to such committees should give affidavits that their children are not taking part in exams. It also recommended reducing the number of exam centres.

On coaching and note-guidebook business, the ACC report blamed greed among some teachers and owners of coaching centres to make a quick buck, the lack of monitoring of educational activities and unawareness of guardians.

The watchdog recommended the setting up of education-monitoring committees at metropolitan, district and upazila levels. Such committees would ensure classroom teaching, transfer of government high school teachers and prevent the incidents of teachers of a particular subject from teaching other subjects to pupils.

It also recommended bringing changes in the pattern of question papers such as dropping MCQs and making the questions descriptive, creative and analytical. It also suggested taking steps to stop coaching centres and conduct mobile courts for all note and guidebook publications.

The ACC report also recommended the introduction of e-tendering in the education engineering department and the NCTB.