Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon has said the first day of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations was conducted in a fair and orderly environment, with no significant incidents of cheating, irregularities or question paper leaks.
He made the remarks on Tuesday after visiting several examination centres in Dhaka’s Mirpur and Manikganj’s Singair areas. Speaking at a press briefing at the International Mother Language Institute shortly after 1:30 pm, he said he had personally monitored proceedings both on-site and through CCTV systems.
“Today’s SSC examination went well. I personally visited several centres and observed the proceedings through CCTV cameras. The exams were conducted in a fair and orderly manner. There were also no incidents of question paper leaks. Such opportunities will not be allowed in the future,” he said.
The minister said cyber surveillance and digital tracking systems had been strengthened to prevent leaks and rumours. “If any group attempts to carry out ill-motivated activities using digital platforms, they will be identified immediately and brought under the law,” he said.
He added that the government have advanced technical capabilities to counter modern methods used to spread misinformation or leak questions and that authorities are coordinating regularly with experts. He said the cyber team can identify the source of any suspicious activity within moments through digital tracking. “We are fully prepared to tackle all kinds of challenges,” he said.
Education Minister said CCTV cameras had been installed in all examination centres, and digital tracking methods were being used for transporting question papers for the first time this year. He added that centre authorities had been instructed to preserve CCTV footage for seven days so it could be reviewed if needed.
Referring to his visits to centres in Manikganj, he said local communities, along with district administration, police and education officials, had cooperated to ensure a smooth examination process. He noted that arrangements such as safe drinking water had been provided and that a calm environment had been maintained.
He said the government had already signalled that this year’s examinations would be conducted properly and had encouraged all stakeholders to avoid unethical practices. “An environment has been created where no one is disturbing anyone else; everyone wants the students to take their examinations peacefully,” he said.
Responding to questions about administrative errors, he said centre secretaries act as guardians for examinees and are trained to handle such situations. “If students make any mistakes, it is their responsibility to know how to handle the situation—and they do know. Teachers are trained for such situations,” he said.
Explaining his unannounced visits, the minister said he preferred to inspect centres without prior notice to understand real conditions. “I am directly checking everything down to the environment of the classrooms and toilets so that it becomes easier to correct our flaws for the future,” he said.
He also said work on curriculum development is ongoing, with experts engaged and direct supervision continuing to identify and resolve classroom-level challenges.
According to the Inter-Education Board, a total of 1,857,344 candidates are sitting the examinations this year under 11 education boards. Of them, 930,305 are male and 927,039 are female students.
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