HSC pass rate falls to 68.91% on new evaluation measures

The pass rate of HSC and equivalent higher secondary exams has fallen to 68.91 this year from 74.7 percent in 2016, according to Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid.

A total of 37,969 students achieved a GPA of 5.0, compared to 58,276 in 2016.

The difference was due to the new evaluation methods used in the exams, the education minister said after the handover of the exam result summary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban.

Last year the SSC pass rate decreased slightly due to the introduction of new evaluation procedures, so did the HSC pass rate this year, he said as way of explanation.

“This is the result of proper assessment of the exam scripts. In the previous years, examiners tended to consider the length of the answers, but now they read the scripts. We believe this is a positive change.”

What percentage of examinees have passed is not as important as providing ‘guidelines’ to students at this stage of their academic career, said Hasina.

“I request all guardians to develop a deeper bond with their children,” the prime minister said. “Build a relationship in a way that your children can talk to you as openly as they do with their friends. Make sure they do not become involved with drugs or militancy.”

The education minister presented the result details at a media briefing at1pm. Examinees will be able to check their results on the government website -- educationboardresults.gov.bd -- or by SMS shortly.

HSC theory exams were held from Apr 2 to May 15 and the practical exams were held from May 16 to May 25. A total of 1,183,686 students sat for the exams.

In the eight general education boards, the success rate is 66.84 percent, with 33,242 students achieving a GPA-5.

The success rate in the madrasa board is 77.2 percent while 1,815 students secured GPA-5.

In the technical education board, the pass rate is 81.33 percent and 2,669 students have bagged GPA-5.

To find out their results, the students will have to send an SMS to 16222 with text 'HSC' followed by space, then first 3 letters of the respective education board, then another space then roll number followed by space again then '2017'.

For example: HSC dha 123456 2017 and send to 16222.

Madrasa students will have to write ‘Alim’ and ‘Mad’ instead of ‘HSC’ and respective board’s first three letters. The rest of the process is the same.

For technical results, students will have to write ‘Tec’ instead of the board’s name. The rest of the process is the same.

Students will also be able to apply for re-evaluation of their results, if needed, between Jul 24 and Jul 30.

They will have to send an SMS only from Teletalk numbers to 16222 with text ‘RSC’ followed by space, then first three letters of the respective education board, then another space then roll number followed by space again and then the subject code.

If there are more than one subject, one will have to write the codes giving commas after each subject code in the same SMS.

The sender will then get a PIN number. The amount of fee that will have to be paid will also be mentioned in the reply to the text message.

If the terms are accepted, the student will then have to send another SMS to the same number with text ‘RSC’ followed by a space then ‘YES’ then another space then a mobile phone number to contact.

Tk 150 will be charged for re-evaluation of each subject and paper, so the re-evaluation of a two-paper exam subject will cost Tk 300.