Dhaka: The probe body, formed to look into the allegations of question paper leakage in the ongoing SSC and equivalent examinations, will recommend cancelling the tests held with questions papers leaked before 9:30am, said its chief on Sunday.

Probe body chief Md Alamgir, Technical and Madrasah Education Division Secretary, said they will get all the reports on question paper leakage from across the country by February 25 and submit their final report to the Education Ministry the following day (Feb 26).

‘We’ll suggest cancelling the examinations whose question papers were leaked before 9:30 am and matched with the original ones,’ he said.

The secretary, however, said if they found that the question papers were leaked after 9:45 am or 10 am by when all the examinees take their respective seats, they will not recommend retaking of exams of those subjects.

The government on February 4 formed the 11-member probe body with Alamgir as its head to look into the allegations of question paper leak.

Meanwhile, the investigation committee sat in a meeting at the Education Ministry on Sunday.

The SCC question papers have been leaking out from the very first day of the examination. The question papers are being found on social media sites and mobile phone before the start of the examinations.

Although the government has taken various measures to prevent the question paper leakage, nothing seems to work.

On February 12, it banned the use of mobile phone in a radius of 200 metres around the examination centre and ordered immediate arrest if anyone is found with a cellphone.

On February 11, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission instructed all the internet gateway operators to slash the internet limit as well as mobile phone operators to suspend the internet from 8 am to 10:30 am on the exam days only to withdraw the decision the next day.

Besides, the High Court on Thursday ordered a judicial probe into the allegations of question paper leakage in the ongoing SSC) and its equivalent examinations.

Following a writ petition, an HC bench comprising Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir also directed the authorities concerned to form an administrative investigation body to look into the allegations, said Supreme Court lawyer Ainunnahar Siddiqa, one of the petitioners.

The court issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain as to why their failure and inaction to prevent the leakage of question papers should not be declared illegal and unlawful, she said.

Twenty government officials, including education, law and home secretaries, and chairmen of the education boards, were made respondents to the rule which is returnable in three weeks, the lawyer added.

The court asked the authorities concerned to submit the probe reports before it within 30 days.