Staff Reporter:
Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon yesterday said ma-jor changes have been introduced by amending the Public Examinations Act, 1980 to ensure transparen-cy and accuracy in the 2026 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations.
Under the new provisions, examiners will also face strict punishment if any negligence or irregularity is detected in evaluating answer papers.
The minister disclosed this at a press conference held at the conference room of the Ministry of Educa-tion at the Secretariat yesterday ahead of the 2026 HSC and equivalent examinations.
Prime Minister’s Education Adviser Dr Mahdi Amin, Secondary and Higher Education Division Secre-tary Abdul Khaleque and Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Pro-fessor Dr Khan Moinuddin Al Mahmud Sohel, among others, were present at the press conference.
The minister said: “Once examiners completed evaluating answer papers, no one used to monitor the process afterwards. That will no longer happen.”
He added, “In the past, we saw incidents where marks inside answer papers were altered fraudulently. Therefore, we have included a provision in the amended law for re-evaluation of answer papers. The education boards will carry out random sampling of answer papers to verify whether examiners are evaluating them properly and whether there is any over-marking or under-marking.”
“If any negligence or irregularity by an examiner is proved, action will be taken in accordance with the law,” he continued.
He said the number of examiners has been increased this year while the number of answer papers as-signed to each examiner has been reduced to lessen their workload and ensure proper evaluation.
Dr Milon said: “We have completely overhauled the 1980 law, introducing stringent punitive measures against question paper leaks, fraud and malpractice. If any teacher or official involved in the examina-tion is found engaged in such offences, they will face severe punishment.”
“We have also kept three sets of question papers ready to deal with any situation involving question pa-per leaks,” he added.
Regarding security at examination centers, the minister said the police administration has been requested to take special measures to maintain law and order during the examinations. Police personnel deployed at the centers will be equipped with body-worn cameras, he added.
He also said legal action would be taken under the cyber law against those spreading misleading infor-mation or fake news about the examinations on social media.
Replying to a question on the introduction of the new curriculum, the minister said it would not be pos-sible to introduce the new curriculum in 2027 due to time constraints. However, it will be fully imple-mented from 2028.
