HSC, equivalent Exams
Chittagong Board's theory exams incomplete, results to be published together in November
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Due to inclement weather, HSC and equivalent examinees faced hardships this year. Students under the Chittagong Board, in particular, suffered from heavy rainfall and floods. Amid nationwide discussion and criticism over the situation, the board's examinations were postponed. Ultimately, the theory examinations for HSC and equivalent were concluded, excluding the Chittagong Education Board's exams.
Due to the flood-related postponement, the HSC examinations under the Chittagong Education Board will conclude on September 9. Examinations in the districts of Chattogram, Khagrachhari, Bandarban, Rangamati, and Cox's Bazar under this board were suspended from July 8 to July 26. Therefore, the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, the forum of education boards, has set a target to publish the HSC and equivalent exam results by early November.
On Saturday morning, examinations were held under nine general education boards for Finance, Banking & Insurance 2nd Paper, Child Development 2nd Paper, and in the afternoon for Sociology 2nd Paper, Social Work 2nd Paper, and Sports 2nd Paper. On the same day, the Alim examination for Higher Mathematics 2nd Paper under the Madrasa Education Board was also held. Meanwhile, the theory examinations for HSC Vocational and BMTA under the Technical Education Board had already concluded earlier.
This year's Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations began on July 2. A total of 1,270,583 students had filled out application forms to sit for the exams. This year, all education boards conducted examinations with identical question papers.
Professor Syed Akhtaruzzaman, Chairman of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee and Chairman of the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, expressed hope that the results would be published following the usual practice of releasing results within 60 working days of the conclusion of the theory exams.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, he said, "The Chittagong Board's theory examinations will end on September 9. Since the results for the entire country will be published together, we will work with the target of publishing the results within 60 working days from that date. Accordingly, I hope it will be possible to publish the results in the first half of November."
This year's examinations were marred by several uncomfortable situations, including errors in Physics questions, inconsistencies in Chemistry questions, distribution of wrong syllabus-based questions at several centers, and answer script evaluation not following regulations. Additionally, organizing exams during excessive rainfall also drew widespread criticism.
Extensive controversies arose over errors in questions 6 and 7 of Physics 1st Paper, differences between the Bengali and English versions of Chemistry 1st Paper questions, and errors in three objective questions of the English version of Biology 2nd Paper. In response, the boards provided concessions in evaluation policies and issued show-cause notices to the concerned teachers.
Furthermore, due to administrative negligence, several serious incidents occurred: at Bhuanpur in Tangail, Psychology 2nd Paper question papers for 2025 were supplied instead of 2026; at Motijheel, wrong set questions were distributed for Psychology; in Satkhira, 2nd Paper questions were distributed on the day of Geography 1st Paper; and at Government Ahmad Mahmud College, regular students were given question papers meant for irregular students in Bengali 2nd Paper.
On the other hand, an assistant professor was temporarily suspended for allegedly having students fill out MCQ answer sheets during the evaluation of HSC BMTA exam scripts under the Technical Education Board in Rangabali, Patuakhali.
In a press release on Wednesday, the Ministry of Education stated that as soon as the matter came to light, Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon directed the concerned authorities to take appropriate action. Following his directives, the teacher was temporarily suspended on August 3 over allegations of negligence in evaluating exam answer scripts.
