Making medical admission test credible

Question and question paper leaks have smeared time and again the credibility of public examinations, admission tests and written examinations for public services and the judiciary. The allegation of similar leaks of questions of the latest admission test for the medical colleges in the country shows no sign of relenting. Candidates who appeared for the test but could not qualify have been regularly staging demonstrations, demanding a fresh admission test. They argue that those who got hold of the question papers on the eve of the test or earlier qualified unfairly.
Theirs was a peaceful protest on the street but the way the police used brutal force to disperse them on a couple of occasions is good enough evidence that the issue has been considered a political one. But there is nothing political about the students' demonstration. They have not uttered any slogan against the government or any political party. All they have wanted to do is to substantiate their complaint that not all successful candidates in the test qualified on their merit. If these demonstrators have any political affiliation, the chance of which is rather slim, or they are from families with political backgrounds, most likely they comprise all hues and leanings.
Now the official stand on this issue is rather ambivalent and therefore intriguing too. The health minister asserted that there was no leak of question paper. Then again, he also claimed that the question papers that were available on social sites prior to the test were not verified by means of information technology. If this is so, how can he be so sure that the questions have not found their way out?
Of the many weaknesses this country's education system is suffering from, unfair means adoption was once almost an epidemic. Now this has largely been contained in the public examinations. But the crime has been taken to a new level by clandestinely getting the question papers out well before the examinations.
Evidently if there are not insiders involved in the corrupt practice, question leak is out of the question. On September 18, at the time the controversial medical test was going on, an assistant director of the University Grants Commission (UGC) was arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) along with a record keeper of the Judicial Service Commission and an associate of the two. The trio used to leak out question papers in exchange for money. A high-tech device imported from China too was impounded from his UGC office room, which was reportedly meant to supply answers to candidates with a tiny device fitted to their ears in the examination halls.
For their service the gang used to receive Tk 1.5 million from candidates seeking admission to government medical colleges, Tk 1.0 million from candidates of the judicial service and Tk 0.60 million from appointment to Krishi Bank as officers. There are gullible parents and candidates who have both money and the mentality to give in to the temptation. Here is an indication of the moral erosion fast taking toll of society all around.
Now Omar Siraj, the assistant director of the UGC, who was taken into RAB custody has allegedly died of heart complications. When people die in custody of the law enforcement agencies in this country, it naturally raises questions and not for nothing. It was he who could divulge more and incisive information about the repeated question paper leaks. Also he could be a key informer of whether question papers of this year's medical test leaked or not. Hopefully, his associates will not die in the same manner.
There is a tendency on the part of the authorities here to sweep unpleasant issues under the carpet. Question paper leaks are no exception to this rule. But this is a grave mistake. Any attempt like the proverbial ostrich only erodes people's confidence in the system and those at the helm of affairs. Still more serious is the issue of the damage done to the education system where merit becomes a casualty by default. Such examinations and tests are held only to reward and promote merit. But when the reverse is the case, simply because of a few dishonest and greedy people, all attempts should be made to make the system foolproof.
In this case, though, it was incumbent on the part of the authority to carry out an objective and incisive probe to establish if there were leaks of question papers or not. If found there were leaks of question papers, the test should have been cancelled in favour of a fresh one. Do the authorities fear that leaks of question papers cannot be contained? If it happens once again, they will have no place to hide their faces! No, such an approach is unacceptable. They must be confident that the disease has to be rooted out once and for all.
Making as important an issue as the medical admission test credible is preferable to allowing it to be questionable. Not only should it be credible but also has to be perceived so. The education boards did it before by cancelling examinations of different papers and then holding those on another set of question paper on a different date. The same principle would have helped remove the question mark on the medical admission test and lift the spirit of the students, including those qualified, who would as well come out clean. They would not have to carry so much baggage.
[email protected]