Rucsu senate member accused of cheating in Master’s exam

An allegation of cheating has surfaced against a senate member of the Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union (Rucsu) during a Master’s examination.

The incident allegedly took place yesterday during the 2019-20 session Master’s exam of the International Humanitarian Law course.

The accused, Akil Bin Taleb, is a student of the Department of Law, and also a representative in the Rucsu senate.

Invigilator Prof Morshedul Islam said Akil resorted to unfair means, which was detected near the end of the exam.

“At one stage of the examination, Akil Bin Taleb’s activities appeared suspicious to me. I checked his answer script and question paper, but initially found nothing unusual and continued my invigilation duties,” he said.

“Later, while checking the question papers of other students, I noticed that the department-issued question paper contained questions covering the entire first page and half of the second page. However, the question paper in Akil’s possession had writing on both pages,” he added.

“Upon closer inspection, I found that while the first page contained the questions, the entire second page was filled with answers that appeared to have been composed in advance.”

Prof Morshedul said he immediately informed chief invigilator Prof Abdul Alim and another invigilator, Prof Anisur Rahman. Although the relevant portion of the question paper was crossed out, no further action was taken. He added that despite the incident taking place yesterday, the department has yet to take any steps.

Akil, however, denied the allegation. “I was just talking with one of my friends during the exam time. Morshedul sir gave me a simple warning not to talk in the exam hall. There was no such incident of cheating in the exam hall yesterday,” he said.

Chief invigilator Prof Abdul Alim said, “No formal written complaint was placed before me. Therefore, no action was taken. However, I am informally aware of the matter.”

Prof Anisur Rahman said he was not present in the hall at the time. “I had gone downstairs for refreshments, so I was not at the spot and did not know the details. However, I later heard that such a thing had happened,” he said.

A student witness, requesting anonymity, said the cheating was detected around 12:15pm during the examination. “Morshedul Islam detected the cheating. After the exam, the teachers held a meeting, but the decision is still unknown,” the student said.

The student also alleged that Akil had faced similar accusations before. “He was caught cheating twice before. In this course, he was suspended and later given a chance to sit for improvement exams. It seems he is being repeatedly given leniency,” the student added.

When contacted over the phone, Department of Law Chairperson Prof Sayeeda Anju declined to comment, saying she was attending a meeting in Dhaka before disconnecting the call.