Jamaat slams move to raise viva marks

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has strongly opposed the government’s decision to increase the weight of oral examinations in recruitment for government posts in grades 11 to 20, warning that the move could create greater scope for irregularities, nepotism, political influence and corruption.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar said the party was “deeply concerned” and strongly condemned the decision to make written and oral examinations equally weighted in the recruitment process.

Under the new arrangement, written and oral examinations for grades 11 to 20 will each carry 50 marks.
Parwar described the change as “extremely worrying”, alleging that it could create opportunities to politicise the civil administration and undermine merit-based recruitment.

He said written examinations provide a relatively objective way to assess a candidate’s knowledge, analytical ability and preparation, while answer scripts can be preserved, re-evaluated and audited.

Oral examinations, by contrast, depend heavily on the discretion of interview boards, he said.

Parwar warned that increasing the weight of viva marks could allow merit rankings to be manipulated, potentially disadvantaging candidates who perform well in written examinations.

He also rejected the argument that higher viva marks could address problems such as proxy candidates and examination fraud.

Instead, Jamaat called for technology-based measures, including biometric verification, tighter surveillance at examination centres, secure handling of question papers and digital monitoring, along with strict punishment for malpractice.

Jamaat calls for withdrawal of decision
Referring to the July mass uprising, Parwar said people had demanded an end to the “horrific culture of politicisation” in government jobs and state institutions.

He said the government should respect that demand rather than create new opportunities for political influence in public recruitment.

Any recruitment system that could facilitate the creation of a politically loyal workforce within the administration would be unacceptable, he said.

Parwar called for the recruitment process to be made transparent, impartial and based solely on merit and qualifications.

He urged the government to immediately withdraw the decision to increase viva marks for grades 11 to 20 and review the related rules.

He also called for an end to political influence, nepotism, financial transactions and personal recommendations in government recruitment, saying appointments should be made strictly on merit.