DHAKA, June 22, 2026 (BSS) - The Madrasa Education Board today issued a set of guidelines for the officers-in-charge of examination centres aimed at conducting upcoming Alim examinations smoothly. 

According to the guideline, question paper packets must be sorted at least 7 days before the examinations begin, in the presence of the Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) or their representative and the officer responsible for the treasury. Under no circumstances should the question papers of the 'Meghna' and 'Jamuna' sets be placed in the same trunk.

Just 30 minutes before the exam starts each day, the officer-in-charge will receive an SMS on their mobile phone from the Deputy Commissioner (DC) or Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) informing them which set of questions will be used for that day's examination. If an exam is conducted using a set other than the one specified, the officer-in-charge will be held directly responsible.

According to the guidelines, no one except the officer-in-charge may use a mobile phone at the examination centre. The officer-in-charge is also only permitted to use a non-Android or basic button phone. If any invigilator or examinee at the centre is found in possession of a smartphone or any other electronic device, it will be considered an offence, and action will be taken against them according to the rules. 

Upon entering the examination centre, examinees must be searched at the gate itself before being allowed into the examination hall. Female teachers must be deployed for searching female students, it added. 

Apart from the admit card and registration card, bringing any book, notebook, mobile phone, or any other paper into the examination hall will be considered an offence. Additionally, seating arrangements will follow a 'Z' pattern to ensure that no examinee can see another's answer script. Furthermore, to ensure that examinees do not receive the same set of questions, the four sets (A, B, C, D) of the multiple-choice questions must be distributed proportionally.

The board's directives further said, the Creative Questions (CQ) and Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) examinations will run continuously. The upper portion of the OMR sheet must not be detached under any circumstances before the examination ends. The MCQ answer sheets and the top portions (OMR) of the written answer scripts must be arranged completely separately, sealed in distinct yellow cloth packets, and sent to the Board's Senior System Analyst. 

To avoid errors, it has been instructed that on the day of the Arabic subject examination, teachers of general subjects should be assigned as invigilators, and on the day of general subjects, Arabic subject teachers should be assigned.

According to the guidelines, special arrangements will be in place for examinees with special needs (those with autism, Down syndrome, or cerebral palsy) and for physically disabled examinees. Disabled examinees may bring a 10th-grade student as a scribe and will receive an additional 20 minutes of time, subject to prior approval from the board. Additionally, examinees with special needs will receive an extra 30 minutes, and their answer scripts must be packed separately in purple-coloured cloth and sent to the board.

Centre heads have been instructed to send the total number of examinees, as well as the numbers of those present, absent, and expelled via online to the board by 12:30 PM each day after the examination concludes.