Education Minister Dipu Moni has vowed that stern action will be taken after a question in a Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination was identified as ‘inflammatory to communal tensions’.
“It is unfortunate that a question like this set by a person somehow skipped the scrutiny of the moderator,” the minister said at an event at Dhaka’s International Mother Language Institute on Monday following questions from the press.
The 'religiously insensitive' question on the HSC Bangla first paper has drawn much criticism from the general public.
Education Minister Dipu Moni said that those involved in adding communally insensitive question to the papers of the Comilla and Dhaka Education Boards in the ongoing HSC and equivalent examinations are being identified.
She said, "Those involved in question paper making and approval were given clear instructions that they will prepare the questions keeping in mind that there will be no allegation of communal incitement."
The 11th question on the creative section of the Dhaka Education Board’s exam was about two Hindu brothers involved in a land dispute.
The question states that the younger brother sold off a piece of land to a Muslim buyer to wreak vengeance on the elder brother. The Muslim buyer then began living on the land and slaughtered a cow there as part of his religious observance of Eid-ul-Azha. The question goes on to say that the younger brother, brokenhearted by the incident, then left his land and moved to India.
She added that the moderator of this question will face strict consequences as Bangladesh is non-communal democratic country.
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