Dismal results and cheating in DU admission tests

The record low percentage of pass in admission tests held at the country's largest public university, the Dhaka University, and the arrest of nearly 50 persons, including students seeking admission to three public universities in Dhaka city, for their alleged involvement in fraudulent practices, have put to question again the quality of education being offered to students at the secondary and higher secondary levels. More importantly, the use of electronic devices and involvement of a widespread network of fraudsters to help the students adopt unfair means in admission tests together have emerged as a serious challenge to the administrations of the public universities.
One gets a very frustrating picture from the results of the tests organised by the Dhaka University for admission to various departments. In admission tests held under 'Ka' and 'Ga' units, nearly 79 per cent admission-seekers have failed to secure even the pass marks. The situation is found to be more pathetic in the case of the admission to the Dhaka University's English department. Only two out of thousands of admission-seekers were found eligible for admission to the department.
The dismal results in admission tests have come against the backdrop of more than 70,000 students securing GPA-5 in this year's higher secondary examinations held under different education boards. It is assumed that the GPA-5 holders are meritorious and capable of securing enough marks for admission to public universities and what could hold them back from doing so is the very limited number of seats. But the failure to get even the minimum pass mark by the vast majority of GPA-5 holders would, naturally, prompt many to cast doubt about the quality of education that the students receive at primary, secondary and higher secondary levels of education.
The education ministry has experimented with different types of education both at secondary and higher secondary levels with a view to helping the students become 'creative'. The education ministry honchos are found to be very happy with the extremely high success rate, in terms of percentage of pass and the number of examinees securing GPA-5, in public examinations. They bother least about the declining quality of education. But the results of admission tests in public universities and competitive examinations held by the Public Service Commission (PSC) do prove the decline. Unless measures are taken to stem the rot without further delay, the nation might have to pay a very heavy price in the long run.
What is more alarming is the rise of the countrywide networks of fraudsters offering illegal help to admission seekers in exchange for handsome amounts of money. A few teachers and employees of the public universities, activists of ruling party student wing and outsiders are involved in the networks which employ electronic gadgets, including mobile phones, in their nefarious activities. A few members of such networks and admission seekers involved in cheating were arrested during last few years.
But the criminals could easily manage to get out of the prison since none on the behalf of the plaintiff was found pursuing the relevant cases in the courts of law.  It is high time for the government to shake off the inertia with regard to the task of ensuring quality education at all levels and eliminating irregularities of all sorts from the educational arena. Any delay, deliberate or otherwise, in accomplishing these tasks would only intensify the sufferings of the future generations.