School and Madrasa board exams will be held using the same question papers: Education Minister

Bangla Press Desk: Education and Primary & Mass Education Minister Dr. A.N.M. Ehsanul Haque Milon has announced plans to conduct board examinations for both schools and madrasas using the same question papers in the future.

He shared this information while speaking as the chief guest at the 34th founding anniversary ceremony of the Bangladesh Open University (BOU) on Wednesday (October 28).

The Education Minister noted that a disproportionately high number of students in madrasas achieve a GPA-5. "People asked me what could be done about this. I questioned why madrasa and school examinations should have different question papers—there is no logical reason for them to be separate. Students from both systems apply for admission to the same institutions, such as Dhaka University, and take the same entrance exams. Therefore, moving forward, schools and madrasas will use the same question papers for their examinations. We will then be able to examine why madrasa students secure more GPA-5s," he stated.

Reflecting on the process of re-evaluating examination scripts, the Minister revealed that the results of a significant number of students were altered. He claimed that following the re-evaluation of approximately 1.2 million answer scripts, the GPAs of 45,000 students were changed. Furthermore, nearly 5,000 students who had initially failed were reclassified as having passed, and 3,079 students attained a GPA-5.

Addressing irregularities in the evaluation of answer scripts, the Minister stated that steps would be taken to identify the examiners responsible for these lapses and bring them to justice. He also mentioned plans to provide training for examiners.

"We will bring those examiners who engaged in such misconduct to justice," the Education Minister asserted.

Regarding the transfer of MPO-listed (government-subsidized) teachers, the Minister remarked, "This issue has become a massive burden for me! During Begum Khaleda Zia’s tenure, I established the NTRCA (Non-Government Teachers Registration and Certification Authority). The process was designed so that the NTRCA would issue certificates, and teachers would then approach local management committees for recruitment. However, the previous government issued blanket certifications, conducted indiscriminate recruitment, and made arbitrary postings across various locations!"

He added, "For instance, someone meant for a post in Kachua ended up in Rangpur, someone from Rangpur was posted in Barishal, and someone from Barishal was sent to Khagrachhari." After taking charge, I realized that we needed to implement a transfer system. For instance, if a teacher currently posted in Kachua happens to be from Rangpur, I could have them transferred back to Rangpur. I have even developed an app specifically for this purpose.
Regarding transfer requests, the Education Minister remarked, "Everyone wants a transfer these days! Someone in Kachua wants to move to Viqarunnisa, another to Ideal School, and others to Monipur or Shahin School—you get the idea, right?"
Addressing the pressure from teachers regarding transfers, the Education Minister added, "Some MPO-listed teachers—acting as 'representatives'—have even threatened me, saying that if the transfers aren't processed by October 31st, they’ll 'show me'! 'Show me'—can you imagine? You are an MPO-listed teacher; your job is to go to your school or madrasa and teach. This [managing transfers] is not your responsibility—it is mine! Let me do it!"

Bp/Sp