DU entrance test to be retaken, following 'leaks'

Admission seekers, who have passed Dhaka University (DU) ‘Gha’ unit test, will have to appear for the exam again.

The vice-chancellor of the university announced the decision on Tuesday.

The step came following allegations of question papers leaks that sparked off protests and legal battle in the higher court.

DU vice chancellor Md Akhtaruzzaman attributed the decision to the deans' committee that discussed the issue at 12:30pm Tuesday.

"The deans have decided to retake exams of the 18,000 students who passed the previous test. Examinations coordinator and co-coordinator will brief the newspersons in detail of the exam after discussing with the deans,” he said.

On 12 October, more than 100,000 admission seekers sat for the test to secure a position out of 1,540 seats up for grab.

On 16 October, the DU authorities published the results of admission test of 'Gha' unit, which is combined unit for science, business studies and humanities group students, for 2018-2019 academic session.

The entire process was already plagued by allegations of question paper leaks and the authorities were criticised for publishing the results in such a context.

At least 14 images of handwritten question papers of entrance test were available on the social media, 43 minutes prior to the beginning of the exam at 10am on 12 October.

As many as 72 multiple choice questions questions -- 19 in Bangla, 17 in English and 36 in general knowledge sections -- got matched with leaked ones.

Following the allegations, the DU authorities halted the results of ‘Gha’ unit admission test for a day. The results were published the next day, instead.