Primary teachers can set exam questions from now on

Until today, primary school teachers across the country were used to only teaching and evaluating exam papers but had no right to set questions in different term exams.

Finally, a notice of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education on Wednesday confirmed that their days of deprivation finally came to an end.

From now on, they no longer need to depend on upazila primary education officers to have the question papers set to test their own students.

However, primary teachers will not be entitled to enjoy the right to set questions in the Primary Education Completion exam as it is directly supervised by the ministry itself.

“Teachers of colleges, universities and even kindergarten schools can prepare questions for their own students. Why, then, will the primary teachers be lagging behind?” said Md Akram al Hossain, secretary of the ministry.

He said the step was taken because teachers were gradually losing their creativity in preparing questions.

“The ministry thinks that if it hands over the responsibility [of making questions] to primary teachers, it will enable them to develop their creativity,” he said.

Besides, the cost for preparing question papers will be reduced to a larger extent if the ministry’s plan is implemented, he added.

Sources however said the ministry took the decision after receiving hundreds of allegations about irregularities by upazila primary education officers while making question papers.

They were accusations that the question papers for term exams in primary schools were not set by education officers but by some others loyal to those officers, sources also said.

This is not a right practice, and the ministry took up the step to check it, added the sources.

Meanwhile, general teachers hailed the ministry’s initiative, terming it as a revolutionary step.

“It is a matter of both joy and pride for us. Also, it is a recognition to us,” said Md Azad, an assistant teacher of Char Kukri Mukri Government Primary School.

“Besides, it will also save a lot of time we usually have to spend to collect question papers from the education office before the exams,” he added.