The school’s English medium branch at Malibagh held the admission tests for classes I and II from 10am to 11am on Saturday.

A parent of one of the pupils said they brought the child for the test thinking of its future despite the outbreak.

The founder of the institution, Principal Hamida Ali, however, claimed she had no knowledge of the tests.

She also claimed the Malibagh branch authorities “created trouble” by holding the tests without informing her.

“What’s the rush? This is a bad attitude,” she said adding that she apologised to the journalists who have called her for comments on the incident.

Some 18 children took part in the exams and the authorities followed health guidelines properly, according to Principal Ali.

bdnews24.com’s calls to Shahnaz Begum, the vice-principal of the branch, went unanswered.

The institution has more than 12,000 students and a total of 300 teachers at its branches in Uttara, Banani, Mirpur, Malibagh and Baridhara.

Earlier, parents expressed anger over the school’s decision to collect fees by any means, such as mobile financial services, despite the virus crisis that forced the government to keep all the educational institutions shut from Mar 17.