Noted fiction writer and teacher Prof Zafar Iqbal seen, among others, at the sit-in programme on the Central Shaheed Minar premises Friday. — Focus Bangla Photo
FE Report
Prominent writer Muhammad Zafar Iqbal blamed the Education Ministry Friday for alleged question paper leakage during various examinations including secondary school certificate (SSC) and higher secondary certificate (HSC) examinations.
The writer, also a noted professor of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), expressed deep concern while addressing a sit-in-programme at the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital.
Earlier, Mr Iqbal along with his wife Prof Yasmin Haque of the same university started the protest programme at about 8:00am.
Later, cross section of people including teachers and students of Dhaka University (DU) and the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) expressed solidarity with the sit-in protest.
Defying the rough-weather, among others, renowned author Anisul Haq, cartoonist Ahsan Habib, BUET Professor Md Kaykobad and Liberation War Museum Trustee Ziauddin Tariq Ali participated in the programme.
"Unfortunately, the ministry concerned is yet to admit the sensitive issue, despite repeated leakages of the question paper", Prof Iqbal said demanding exemplary punishment of the guilty persons.
He also raised a question saying that if the ministry wasn't involved in the leakage, how such criminal activities continue.
The professor said that leakage is the government failure, and it must take responsibility through visible measures against the people involved in the irregularities.
After a four-hour sit-in, on behalf of the protesters, BUET student Naziur Rahman gave a seven-day ultimatum to the government to take the responsibility of the question paper leakage and necessary actions against the criminals.
"We will come back to the same venue next Friday where professor Iqbal also will attend, if the government fails to meet the demand", Mr Rahman said.
Earlier, Prof Iqbal wrote a number of articles in newspapers to draw attention of the authorities concerned as he had received a number of leaked question papers which resembled the actual questions of the HSC examination.
Following the write-up, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid also wrote an article in the newspaper refuting any leakage, and said that a section of people were spreading propaganda to take political advantages.
However, following the allegations the ministry formed a committee to probe the leakage of English question paper of the HSC examination under Dhaka Education Board and the board also submitted the probe report that couldn't find any clue of the question paper leakage.
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