The interim government has cancelled the multiple-choice question (MCQ) examination for recruiting 516 sub-assistant engineers in the Bangladesh Railway (BR). The post has the 10th grade rank under the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The PSC announced the exam cancellation in a notification on Monday.
According to the notification, the MCQ exam for the 516 sub-assistant engineer positions, which was held on 5 July, has been cancelled. The exam will now be rescheduled and conducted at a convenient time in March next year.
In 2019 and 2023, the PSC issued notifications for the recruitment of 516 sub-assistant engineers in 11 categories of Bangladesh Railway. Later, the recruitment exam for the sub-assistant engineer position was held on 5 July this year.
However, allegations of question leaks surfaced. As a result, 17 individuals, including two deputy directors and one assistant director from the PSC, were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police for their alleged role in leaking questions of various recruitment exams, including the railway’s sub-assistant engineer exam.
Job seekers have been staging human chains and protest rallies demanding the cancellation of the rigged exam. Ultimately, the PSC decided to cancel the test.
Meanwhile, the existing staff of Bangladesh Railway have announced that they will not work for more than 8 hours. As a result, many trains are running late, causing inconvenience for passengers.
Since Monday morning, each train departing from Kamalapur Railway Station in the capital has been delayed by two and a half hours. The trains are arriving late in Dhaka as the railway staff across the country are not working for more than 8 hours, resulting in delays for trains leaving Dhaka as well.
Anwar Hossain, station master at Kamalapur Railway Station, stated that the staff’s decision to limit their working hours to eight (8) has caused complications. However, no trains have been cancelled, although the majority are running late.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
