Eight Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) candidates from Abdulpur Government College in Lalpur upazila of Natore will be able to sit their examinations from Saturday after Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon intervened following media reports on the incident, reports Daily Sun.
According to a ministry statement, the students had paid their examination registration fees but were unable to appear in the HSC examinations, which began on Thursday, as their forms had not been properly processed.
After the matter came to his attention, the minister instructed Rajshahi Education Board Chairman Professor Dr Shamim Ara Chowdhury to take immediate steps to ensure the students could sit the examinations.
The allegation states that the college's office assistant, Amit Kumar Sarkar, collected the registration fees from the students but failed to deposit them properly, preventing the issuance of their admit cards.
The minister also ordered a prompt investigation and directed that strict legal and departmental action be taken against those responsible.
Following the minister's directive, the Rajshahi Education Board completed the students' registration process on Friday. They will now be able to take the examinations as regular candidates from Saturday.
The minister also spoke by telephone with Natore Superintendent of Police Mohammad Shariful Haque and Lalpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shafiqul Islam, instructing them to take legal action against those involved.
Police later arrested the accused office assistant Amit Kumar Sarkar. He has been taken into custody, and a case against him is under process.
The minister further directed the Rajshahi Education Board chairman to conduct a full investigation and ensure exemplary punishment for those found responsible. A three-member probe committee, headed by Associate Professor Abdullah Al Mahmud of the Chemistry Department at Abdulpur Government College, has already been formed.
Meanwhile, the minister also intervened in a separate case involving an HSC candidate in Sariakandi upazila of Bogura, who was unable to sit the examination despite paying the registration fee on time due to an error in the registration number.
Bd-Pratidin English/ AM
