Bangladesh cracks down on cheats

Pupils caught cheating are immediately expelled

Alastair Lawson BBC correspondent in Dhaka

Authorities in Bangladesh say that an unprecedented security operation at exam centres around the country has resulted in fewer incidents of cheating.

We will put a stop to cheating in exams at any cost

Ehsanul Huq
State education minister

The operation involved a combination of measures including the use of closed-circuit television cameras, and the deployment of armed police.

Teams of magistrates and invigilators patrolled exam halls with the power to hold summary trials of pupils suspected of flouting the rules.

As a result, the number of candidates trying to cheat is significantly lower than this time last year, authorities said.

More than 700,000 Bangladeshis aged between fifteen and sixteen sat pre-university entrance exams on Thursday for the first time this year.

Thorough searches

Security has never been tighter ahead of pre-university exams in Bangladesh.

The government is determined to maintain security

Pupils were thoroughly searched in exam centres all over the country before they were allowed to enter, and some centres had closed-circuit television cameras to prevent cheating.

Almost all had a heavy security presence, with armed police deployed outside centres where widespread cheating took place last year.

Teams of roving invigilators and magistrates toured the larger exam centres, where they immediately dealt with pupils accused of cheating.

The authorities say that the key reason why there were fewer cheating cases this year is because most pupils trying to do so were prevented from entering the exam halls in the first place.

In the district of Comilla in central Bangladesh there were a series of mass expulsions for cheating last year, but this time the exams were completed in a far more orderly fashion.

Expulsions

A spokesman from the education department told the BBC that there had been several incidents of candidates trying to smuggle in material that would help them cheat.

He said those caught were immediately expelled.

If trends set on Thursday continue for the month-long exam period, the number of people caught cheating this year will be far lower than in 2001.

But ultimately the success of the exams depends on the continued vigilance of the authorities inside and outside the exam halls in the weeks ahead.

The government says that it is determined that the same level of security will be maintained.

Although the first day of exams seem to have passed by relatively smoothly, candidates still had to overcome other hardships, including frequent power cuts in stiflingly hot temperatures.