8 Students Expelled for Using Guidebooks and ChatGPT During Exam in Gafargaon
MYMENSINGH – Eight students were expelled from an SSC (Vocational) exam center in Gafargaon for cheating using guidebooks and the ChatGPT app on their phones.
The incident took place on Tuesday morning at Gafargaon Women’s College exam center. Executive Magistrate Amir Salman conducted a surprise inspection 20 minutes after the exam began and caught students copying answers—some from guidebooks, others by using ChatGPT on their mobile phones.
Magistrate Salman told Prothom Alo that the violation occurred during the second paper of the vocational trade subject. “I found several students openly using guidebooks and mobile phones inside the exam rooms. Eight male students were immediately expelled—six were caught with guidebooks, and two had mobile phones,” he stated. He also questioned how students managed to bring these materials inside despite the presence of teachers. While no formal action was taken against the teachers, they were strongly reprimanded.
Meanwhile, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) N.M. Abdullah Al Mamun dismissed two room invigilators from J.M. Kamil Madrasa center on the spot for keeping mobile phones during the exam. At Islamia Government School center, a teacher from Mujibur Rahman High School was also relieved of duty after being found with a mobile phone and violating board rules by supervising the exam where his own daughter was a candidate.
UNO Abdullah Al Mamun urged parents to help prevent cheating, reaffirming the administration’s strict zero-tolerance policy against exam malpractice.