More girls than boys taking SSC exams in Bangladesh

More girls than boys are taking the school-leaving exams in Bangladesh this year.

There are 19,000 more girls than boys taking these exams, says Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid. 
A little over 1.65 million students are taking the Secondary School Certificate (SSC), Dhakil and equivalent exams under the Vocational Board in 2016, scheduled to start from Feb 1.
 
There were 642,507 male students taking the exams this year but there were 661,767 female tests taking the tests.
 
Students of 28, 119 institutions will sit for the exams in 3,143 centres, said Nahid adding 404 students will take the exams from eighth centres abroad.
 
Written tests will be held between Feb 1 and Mar 8, while the practical ones between Mar 9 and 14.
 
The minister said students with disability would get 20 extra minutes to complete exams with the help of their scribes.
 
Special children (autistic and down syndrome) will have extra 30 minutes as well as will be allowed to be accompanied with parents, teacher or helper, said Nahid.
 
The results will be announced within 60 days of the exams, he said, adding: “The BTRC will take immediate measures if questions are leaked in Facebook.”
 
He claimed that there were no options of question leak from the state-operated BG Press.
 
Nahid also brushed away allegations of teachers being instructed to give higher scores in an effort to improve the rate of success.
 
“Let me make it clear to everyone concerned that there are no such instructions to give higher scores or lower.
 
“Score whatever one deserves. We are not under any kind of pressure over the success rate going up or down,” said the minister.