Published: 10:04 AM, 19 August 2020
Janomot report: The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has proposed to scrap Primary Education Completion (PEC) examinations of the fifth grade only for this year due to the coronavirus crisis.
The amendment was announced on Thursday following a rule issued by the High Court over expulsion of 15 students from this year’s PEC exams in November.
Now, in accordance with the government’s amendment to the rule, students who undertake primary school completion exams will no longer be expelled from the tests, Md Delwar Hossain, deputy director of the Primary Education Directorate, told.
The authorities brought the amendment to Section 11 of the related law, which was applied previously to take steps against students over the violation of the rules.
A senior official of the ministry told that prime minister Sheikh Hasina would make the final decision in this regard.
If this proposal is approved, the scholarship that is usually awarded on the basis of this test will not be given this time.
However, the ministry has planned to conduct the examination in their respective schools this year on the basis of a shortened syllabus. The implementation of the plan also depends on the coronavirus situation.
The ministry is also preparing a set of plans on how to run the school in compliance with the health rules.
Although the primary and mass education ministry has clarified its position on the final examination of primary education, it is yet to make any decision on the Junior School Certificate (JSC) examination at the end of the eighth grade.
A meeting will be held soon to decide alternative ways to stop students from cheating in exams, a DPE official told.
Around 200 students were expelled from PEC and Ebtedayee exams held in November this year.
Following a report published by daily Desh Rupantor, the High Court issued a rule asking the government about the legitimacy of the expulsion on Nov 21.