Govt mulls shutting down Facebook, Twitter during SSC examinations

The government plans to stop Facebook, Twitter and other social media across the country during the SSC and equivalent examinations to prevent question paper leakage.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid revealed their plan on Tuesday while talking to the reporters at the secretariat.

"A decision in this regard will be taken later after discussion", he added.

“We will request those who operate Facebook to shut it for a limited time,” the minister said.

He said they are trying to analyse when the leaked questions appear on the social media before the tests and considering ways to block access to those sites during that time.

“It can be just for an hour or two,” Nahid said adding they were “very desperate and very aggressive” on the matter.

In the last few years, the questions of public exams have leaked on the internet the night before the tests, which can be found on Facebook in the morning.

Asked whether a clampdown for one or two hours will actually work, Nahid cited some research that found the leaked questions usually appear on the social media just before the dawn and early in the morning.

“Questions for the exam centres in remote areas are dispatched early in the morning. It has been found that the ones which appear then resemble the original questions,” he said.

Students’ entry 

Students have to enter the centres half an hour before the tests or else they will be barred from taking the exams.

Nahid advised students and parents to keep in mind the traffic and the distance of their centres to reach in time.

“The students must take their seats by 9:30am for the tests which will start at 10.”

According to a bdnews24 report, he said centre secretaries will not be allowed to open the sealed envelopes containing the questions before 9:30am.

“If that happens it will be considered an offence and legal measures will be initiated,” he warned.

Nahid said that all kinds of coaching centres across the country will be closed during the upcoming Secondary School Certificate and equivalent examinations across the country.

SSC and equivalent examinations is scheduled to begin on February 1.

Nahid also said his detained personal officer (PO) Motaleb Hossain and another Education Ministry staff Nasir Uddin will be suspended, according to UNB.

Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested the trio on Sunday night.