The education ministry is going to hold the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations on February 2, in which, teachers and others will be barred from carrying smart phones into the exam centres. Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid, yesterday, said that no teacher, except the exam centre secretary, would be allowed to carry mobile phones into the exam halls. “It'd be illegal for any teacher to take mobile phones into the exam centres. There would be only one phone for the centre secretary, but it would not be a smart phone. Any violation of this instruction it would be considered an offence inviting penal action,” the minister said.
Nahid said the restriction was being imposed because there were instances of some unscrupulous teachers taking pictures of question papers and sending them outside, through smart phones, for unfair gains. The minister made this announcement at a press conference in the secretariat, before the SSC and equivalent examinations. He also said no one, except those connected with the exams, would be allowed into the centres.
This year, a total of 1,786,613 students would sit for the examinations under 10 education boards, marking an increase of 135,090 examinees over last year’s figure. The number of boys appearing in the exams is 910,501, while the number of girls is 876,112.
However, under the eight general education boards, there are 1,425,900 examinees and the number of girls is more than that of boys. The girls are 723,601 and boys are 702,299. Under the Madrasa education board, a total of 256,502 students would sit for the Dakhil examinations. Of them, 130,585 are boys and 125,916 are girls. Under the technical education board, a total of 104,212 examinees would appear in the SSC (Vocational) and, of them, 77,617 are boys and 26,595 are girls. Under the eight overseas centres, a total of 446 students would take part in the SSC exam and equivalent examinations. At a time when the government is stressing the development of science and technology in the country, the number of students in the science stream under eight general boards is not encouraging.