The Department of Youth Development has drawn intense scrutiny following the sudden cancellation of a recruitment examination for the post of Upazila Assistant Youth Development Officer due to a question paper leak. The preliminary screening test, which drew 3,19,000 job seekers vying for 242 available positions, was abruptly called off at the very last moment on Saturday after the confidential questionnaire circulated widely.
According to multiple insider sources, certain officials and employees within the Department of Youth Development are strongly suspected of orchestrating the leak to favor specific candidates in exchange for substantial financial transactions. Officials from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Department of Youth Development, and an intelligence agency revealed that an influential faction allegedly forwarded a list of preferred candidates two days prior to the test, demanding their assured selection through both screening and written examinations. To fulfill this objective, confidential questions were reportedly delivered to favored candidates the night before the examination.
The recruitment process has undergone several administrative shifts since the initial circular was issued on November 16, 2025, during the tenure of the interim government. Following a revised circular published on May 20, further administrative changes took place on July 5 when Director General Gazi Md. Saifuzzaman of the Department of Youth Development was transferred to the Ministry of Public Administration. On the same day, Anti-Corruption Commission Director General Motahar Hossain assumed office as the new director general, while Joint Secretary D. M. Atikur Rahman was transferred from the Election Commission to oversee the department's crucial administration and finance branches.
A five-member Departmental Selection Committee (DPC) was formed for the recruitment drive, headed by D. M. Atikur Rahman as president and Deputy Director (Administration) Atikur Rahman as member secretary, alongside representatives from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Public Commission, and the Ministry of Public Administration. Department records indicate that the question papers were printed at a rented office on the fourth floor of Jiban Bima Tower in Motijheel, Dhaka, beginning at 10:30 PM on Friday and concluding at 9:00 AM on Saturday. While committee members and 18 to 20 department employees were present during the printing process, D. M. Atikur Rahman described the leak as a miracle, maintaining that he dismissed all unsolicited applicant entry cards sent to his mobile phone and handled his responsibilities with transparency. Meanwhile, committee member and Ministry of Youth and Sports Deputy Secretary Mizanur Rahman expressed profound embarrassment over the breach, confirming that everyone involved remained together throughout Friday night.
In response to the scandal, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has constituted a five-member probe committee headed by an additional secretary from the ministry's administration wing, directing the panel to submit a comprehensive investigation report within three working days. Former secretary and Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre rector Abdul Aul Majumdar asserted that the leak could not have occurred without internal complicity, while raising concerns regarding the inclusion of departmental officials in the probe committee and emphasizing that genuine accountability depends entirely on the ministry's sincerity.
