RU senate member faces complaint over exam 'cheating'

Fresh documents have surfaced in connection with allegations of examination malpractice against a Master’s student who is a representative in the Rajshahi University senate.

The accusations against Akil Bin Taleb, a student of the law department, first emerged after a law faculty teacher reportedly caught him red-handed during an examination on International Humanitarian Law on February 2.

According to documents obtained by this correspondent, Akil, a 2019–20 (LLM) student, allegedly brought typed answers to previously set questions and additional answer scripts containing answers written in advance.

The extra answer sheets were dated January 25, while the examination took place on February 2, the documents show.

The papers further indicate that the additional scripts contained answers marked with specific question numbers that reportedly matched the question paper distributed during the examination. The similarity has raised concerns among some students and teachers about whether the exam paper had been leaked beforehand.

Morshedul Islam, a professor in the law department, said he detected the alleged malpractice during the examination.

“On that day, we recovered a typed copy of answers to earlier questions from him, along with additional answer sheets containing pre-written answers,” he said.

He added that the scripts carried the date January 25, while the examination was held on February 2.

“The answers on those sheets were marked with question numbers that matched exactly with the question paper provided during the exam. In such circumstances, questions about a possible leak are quite logical,” he said.

A student who witnessed the incident, requesting anonymity, said the alleged cheating was detected around 12:15pm during the examination. “Professor Morshedul Islam detected the cheating,” the student said.

The student also claimed that Akil had previously faced similar allegations.

Professor Morshedul said the matter has been reported to the university’s disciplinary committee and expressed hope that appropriate action would be taken.

However, Abdul Hannan, a member of the examination committee, rejected the possibility of a question leak.

“I was one of the members of the examination committee. The questions were composed and typed by the committee members themselves. We prepared and sealed the question paper maintaining strict confidentiality,” he said.

He suggested that the accused student might have written answers beforehand based on assumptions and later added the question numbers during the examination.

“There was no scope for any question leak,” he added.

Anisur Rahman, head of the examination committee, also dismissed the allegation.

“No such incident occurred. We conduct the entire process with strict confidentiality. There is no opportunity for a question paper to be leaked from our system,” he said.

Hasnat Kabir, controller of examinations (administrator), said the university had received a complaint from Professor Morshedul regarding the incident, although no investigation committee has yet been formed.

Meanwhile, Farid Uddin Khan, pro-vice chancellor (academic) of University of Rajshahi, said disciplinary measures would be taken if the allegations were proven.

“If the allegation of cheating is established, the student may face different degrees of punishment, including at least a one-year suspension. If a question leak is proven, the concerned teacher will be dismissed according to university regulations,” he said.