Reference to an article (It’s a big responsibility to be an examiner and what’s the measure to protect the state) published on the daily Ittefaq on 3rd instant regarding the frustrating picture of the standard of our education has drawn my attention with great sorrow. It’s very much frustrating for the nation that after the four decades of our independence, we are still searching for the way to keep the standard of education in every stage which is neither desirable nor expectable.

Education is the backbone of a nation, so none should be busy to increase the quantity but obviously the quality also or else in near future our next generation will be turned into a burden rather than an asset. On the above mentioned article, the writer who is an examiner too has clearly mentioned about his bitter experience to get the papers from the respective educational board where the Chairman / Controller of the board instructs the examiner to be loyal to give the pass marks to the examinee if he obtains even 20 out of hundred i.e. 20 to be made 33. The head examiner asks the examiners about the percentage of passing and even there are few fails he questioned about that “why did they fail”? According to the report, in the recent JSC (Junior School Certificate) examination, the examiner has made 13 into 33! Even the answer out of the question paper has been given marks in order to pass the students. What a funny and what a method to increase the percentage of pass! A lot of other instances have been mentioned on the above articles.

I’m not worried about the said so-called higher percentage of passing but for the future of the next generation. The students those who are passing without knowing even anything what will they do for our nation in future, may be appointed in the different cadres too, like we have seen that getting zero in English the candidates have been selected for the cadre job in the 18th BCS examination (Vide the Independent, 17th Sep’2010http://www.theindependentbd.com/paper-edition/editorial/letter/9608-letters-to-the-editor.html “A total of 3295 (20.11%) of candidates appearing at the 18th BCS examination (held in 1996-97) got zero in English, even though some of them qualified for BCS posts”. [Human Resource Management in Bangladesh Civil Service: Constraints and Contradictions, (Dr. Noore Alam Siddiquee), International Journal of Public Administration, 1532-4265, Volume 26, Issue 1, 2003, Pages 35-60].

Is this believable? Does not it show the fallen poor quality of the civil servants or the real naked pictures of the irregularity and corruption in the BCS examinations? On the other hand, a complete English medium BCS candidate who passed the written examination didn’t qualify in the same examination! What does it mean? What’s the justification here and who will to bell the cat? As a student of law, may I draw the kind attention of the honorable High Court to interfere in this case in order to get the suo moto rule against the irregularity and to re-store the justice in this connection!

However, as a result, the corruption, nepotism, irregularity, copying in the examination etc. have been increased a lot in our society like an epidemic disease which is not easy to remove in a day but a matter of long process since it has been spread all over the body like cancer.
I can memorize one of my professor’s saying while I was a student of the master’s level in Political Science where he said “It may require to higher the skilled professionals/secretaries to lead the secretariat from abroad after 50 years as the standard of our civil servants have gone down. Even some of them can’t write an application in English correctly”. Now I understand why he uttered such type of sentence.
No need to mention that the enemy Pakistani rulers wanted to kill our meritorious society in order to make us inactive as a nation and as a result they did the same thing on 14th December 1971 on the eve of our final victory. So, above all we must have to protect our merit first to protect our nation/ourselves, isn’t it?
Finally, I would request the concerned to be aware of the educational method to increase the percentage which must contain the merit too and NOT to believe in quantitative theory but the qualitative method also, or else we may become the basket without bottom!

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Md. Zahidul Islam (Milton)
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Email: milton_goodluck2000@yahoo.co.in