A Bangladeshi member of parliament was allegedly caught cheating on her exams at Bangladesh Open University (BOU). A spokesperson for the university told news outlets that they expelled Bangladesh MP Tamanna Nusrat “because she has committed a crime,” adding, “She will never be able to get admitted here again.”
Bangladesh MP Tamanna Nusrat accused of hiring lookalikes
Bangladeshi broadcaster Nagorik TV reportedly revealed the scheme by entering a test hall and then confronting one of the eight lookalikes MP Tamanna Nusrat is accused of hiring. The video of the confrontation went viral. She allegedly hired the eight lookalikes to take exams for her. The exam cheating scheme may have enabled her to pass as many as 13 tests.
Nusrat was elected to parliament last year and has been working on a Bachelor of Arts degree at BOU. She’s from the ruling party, the Awami League. A college official said Nusrat’s “musclemen” protected the lookalikes while they sat for the exams.
“Everybody knew it, but nobody uttered a word because she is from a very influential family,” the official said, according to The Guardian.
Exam cheating is common in Bangladesh
The Guardian and RT report that exam cheating and leaks of test questions are common in Bangladesh, so it isn’t uncommon for authorities to cancel test results. Local government officials have even addressed the issue as a law enforcement concern. Bangladeshi police reportedly broke up an exam cheating ring in Dhaka seven years ago. The professional cheaters reportedly fed answers to test takers via messages sent to mobile phones disguised as watches.
Although Bangladesh MP Tamanna Nusrat was expelled from university due to the allegations, it’s unclear whether she will be able to continue serving as a member of parliament. She did not respond to media requests for comment on the matter. According to the Daily Sun, a college official said a committee was considering whether to bring legal action against Nusrat, her alleged lookalikes or any authorities at the college.
