Youth Development Department recruitment exam suspended over question leak allegations

The Department of Youth Development has suspended its recruitment examination for the post of Assistant Upazila Youth Development Officer following allegations that the question paper was leaked and circulated on social media hours before the test.

D M Atikur Rahman, director (administration) and joint secretary of the department, confirmed the decision to The Daily Campus. “We have decided to suspend the examination. A new date for the test will be announced within the next two to three days,” he said.

The examination for the 11th-grade post was scheduled to begin at 11am on Saturday. More than 300,000 candidates from across the country were expected to compete for 242 positions, with preparations underway to hold the test at around 100 centres in the capital.

Serious allegations of a possible question leak emerged on Friday night, before the scheduled examination. A social media post claimed that a group within the department was involved in the incident, including a relative of a senior departmental official who also holds a key position on the recruitment examination committee.

The post further alleged that agreements had been made for an average of around Tk 25 lakh per candidate. It claimed that candidates were being taught the purported questions and answers at various locations throughout the night.