This archive report was first published on 21 October 2019.
Published on October 21, 2019, a Bangladeshi lawmaker, Tamanna Nusrat, has been expelled from the Bangladesh Open University (BOU) after a scandal emerged involving her hiring of lookalikes to take exams in her place.
Nusrat, a member of the ruling Awami League party and elected to parliament last year, was studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree with the BOU. According to officials, she allegedly paid the lookalikes to pretend to be her in at least 13 tests.
The scandal came to light after private broadcaster Nagorik TV entered a test hall and confronted one of the women posing as Nusrat, in a video that went viral.
BOU head M.A. Mannan told AFP, "We expelled her because she has committed a crime. A crime is a crime. We have cancelled her enrolment. She will never be able to get admitted here again."
Test fraud, cheating, and leaking of question papers ahead of exams are common in Bangladesh, prompting authorities frequently to cancel results.
