Biman Bangladesh Faces Employment Exam Backlash After Suspected Question Leak
Summary
- 33k candidates for ground service jobs at Biman Bangladesh Airlines left upset as the airline delayed the exam by up to one hour.
- Some candidates had already received question papers when the delay was announced, raising concerns of unfairness.
- The airline uploaded a notice about a change in exam time but later changed the date, creating further questions about legality and fairness.
Thirty-three thousand candidates for 100 ground service assistant roles at Biman Bangladesh Airlines have been left confused and upset after the airline delayed the application exams by up to one hour, with an inquiry now requested to look into exam question leaks.
The airline refused to simply postpone the examinations until another date when it delayed the exam only 15 minutes before its initial starting time.
Photo: Matyas Rehak / Shutterstock
Some examinees already had their question papers.
According to the Dhaka Tribune, questions about plagiarism and unfairness in the exams have been raised, given that some examinees had already received their exams when the hour-long delay was advised.
Participants who picked up on the unfairness immediately protested outside multiple exam centers, including Badda Alatunnessa Higher Secondary School, Uttara High School and College (Sector-7), and Uttaran Girls High and College (Sector-6).
Siddiqur Rahman, the Biman Director of Administration, advised that the delay was because the exams being unable to be commenced simultaneously due to rain delays. Rahman also blamed two other centers for being unable to facilitate the exams.
Photo: Lucas Wunderlurch / Shutterstock
Abdul Khalek, Kurmitola High School and College’s Acting Principal, who has hosted the exams over the last ten years, advised that just 15 minutes before the exams were supposed to start, he was called by Siddiqur Rahman, of Biman, stating that the exams should be delayed due to printing of the exam papers.
Changing exam times
The airline, which uploaded a notice regarding the last-minute change in time, had stated, “Due to unavoidable reasons, the written examination will be held at 4 pm instead of 3 pm.” However, initially loaded onto the website on September 1st, the airline quickly changed this to August 31st, which raises more concerns about the legality and fairness of the change, disadvantaging thousands of applicants.
Protests outside some exam centers continued from 15:00 until 17:30, and the paper preparation committee at Biman postponed the exams. An un-named examinee was noted in the Dhaka Tribune stating:
“This was a questionable test. If the test is not canceled, and the Biman administration denies postponing the test, we will file a writ in court to demand the test’s cancellation,”
Photo: LPatricK297 / Shutterstock
Other examinees are also pushing for the Bangladesh Government to step in with a formal inquiry into the practices and organization of the exam process and to take legal action against those involved in the suggested leak of exam papers.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG), initially formed in January 1972, operates from its base at Dhaka Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (DAC), with a fleet of 21 aircraft.
Sources: Dhaka Tribune
