A scholarship exam center where students from eleven schools took the test, and none passed. This result has led teachers, students, and tutors to take to the streets of Rajshahi, demanding a review of the primary school scholarship exams.
The human chain was formed on Thursday, July 16, at 12:30 p.m. in front of the Divisional Office of Primary Education. Earlier that morning, at 10:30 a.m., the protesters delivered a memorandum addressed to the Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) to the District Primary Education Officer, A. K. M. Anwar Hossain. The memorandum outlined seven demands.
“Many Meritorious Students Deprived”
After reading the written statement from the tutors, Dr. Azibor Rahman stated that the recently published results have generated great concern and dissatisfaction among teachers, students, and tutors across the country. Due to various inconsistencies in the results, he noted, many deserving students have been deprived of the recognition they deserve, causing profound emotional distress among the children and undermining public confidence in the education system.
The pain was personal for the students present. Mehejabin Borno, a student at Rajshahi’s Upashahar Government Model Primary School, stated that she had achieved excellent results on the exam and hopes to win a scholarship if the tests are reviewed, which is why she is demanding it so vehemently.
The Center Where Nobody Won
The most surprising statement of the day came from the headteacher of that very school. Aminur Rahman stated that students from eleven schools took the exam at the Upashahar Model Centre; however, after the results were published, not a single student from the entire centre appeared on the scholarship list. He called the outcome astonishing and demanded a thorough investigation.
Assistant teacher Farhana Khatun supported him, noting that this year’s cohort was exceptionally strong and that the complete absence of scholarship recipients at the centre simply cannot be normal.
238 Results Never Published
According to the district primary education office, 13,015 students registered for the scholarship exam in Rajshahi, 10,083 took part, and 1,909 won scholarships. But there is a second anomaly feeding the anger: the results of 238 examinees of one center were never published at all, leaving those families in limbo since result day.
What Officials Say
The district’s primary education officer, A. K. M. Anwar Hossain, reported that written requests are being received from parents and guardians and will be forwarded to the Department of Primary Education (DPE). He offered a possible explanation: it is highly unlikely that so many answer sheets were lost; it is more likely a technical error occurred during the results processing. He noted that this was the first time the primary scholarship exam was assessed using the OMR method and assured that the matter would be examined thoroughly.
It is worth noting that, according to current regulations, the official review process only checks the totals, OMR errors, and unmarked answers; the full re-evaluation of the answer sheets, which the protesters are demanding, is not currently permitted. This discrepancy between the regulations and the protesters’ demands will likely perpetuate this issue.
Rising Barta will be monitoring the DPE’s investigation and the fate of the 238 missing results. Stay tuned.
