On Monday, a case of fraud was discovered in a Brahmanbaria exam room, not because a supervisor caught him in the act, but because a camera on the wall recorded him, and the teacher involved is now serving a jail sentence.
A madrasa teacher has been sentenced to one year of simple imprisonment for supplying cheat notes to examinees during the Alim (HSC-equivalent) Islamic History examination at the Kasba Mohila Degree College centre in Brahmanbaria on Monday (July 27).
What Happened in Room 301
According to sources within the upazila administration and the college, a complaint arose during the exam that a teacher was providing cheating materials to five students in classroom 301 of the Kasba Women’s University Center, located in the city.
The accused was identified as Md. Monirul Islam, a teacher at the Ranikhar Emdadul Bari Madrasa in Dharkhar Junction, Akhaura Upazila, who was not a member of the college’s faculty.
Instead of acting solely on the complaint, the upazila administration reviewed the recordings. The footage from the security cameras installed at the center was analyzed, and it confirmed that cheating materials had indeed been provided.
The Punishments
With the allegation substantiated on camera, Executive Magistrate and Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md. Tanjil Kabir handed down a sentence of one year’s simple imprisonment to Monirul Islam.
The consequences did not stop with him:
- Five examinees expelled — the students who cheated using the materials supplied to them
- Two invigilators relieved of all duties — Afsana Akter and Md. Bakibillah of Araibari Kamil Madrasa, who were on duty in Room 301, have been released from all responsibilities for the remainder of the Alim examinations
That last measure is worth noting. The two invigilators were not accused of participating; they were on duty in the room where it happened. Their removal signals that the administration is treating supervision failure as a matter of accountability in its own right, not merely bad luck.
What Officials Said
Centre in-charge Maulana Aminul Islam confirmed the actions, stating that the upazila administration had jailed a teacher named Monirul Islam for supplying cheat notes to several examinees at the Kasba Mohila College Alim centre, relieved the two Araibari Madrasa teachers of all duties, and expelled five examinees.
Magistrate Md. Tanjil Kabir explained the sequence: an allegation of cheat-note supply arose in Room 301 during the examination, the matter was verified through CCTV footage, and the accused teacher was then sentenced to a year’s simple imprisonment. He added that arrangements for strict surveillance have been put in place at every examination centre in line with government directives.
Why This Case Stands Out
Expulsions for unfair means are routine in any Bangladeshi examination season — this year alone has seen candidates expelled in district after district. What makes this case different is the sequence: a teacher, not a student, at the centre of it; a custodial sentence rather than an administrative penalty; and camera footage as the deciding evidence.
Furthermore, this comes at a time when exam integrity has been a constant national concern, from exam leaks and flawed tests to selection exams conducted with facial recognition and device bans. The government’s insistence on monitoring exam centers has generated some skepticism about whether the monitoring actually changes anything. In Kasba’s Hall 301, however, it proved to have a real effect.
For examinees still sitting papers this season, the practical message is plain enough: the cameras in your centre are not decorative, and the footage gets reviewed.
We will report any appeal, further departmental action, or board response to this case as it develops.
