Govt to hold SSC, HSC tests on 3 elective subjects for pandemic

The government has decided to hold the SSC and HSC tests in 2021 on three elective subjects considering the setback caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

There will be no exams on the compulsory and fourth subjects.

The time and scores will also be reduced, the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, said in a notice on Monday.    

Coronavirus health protocols will be followed strictly in the tests, Examinations Controller Professor SM Amirul Islam said in the notice.

For the compulsory and fourth subjects, the students will be graded through subject mapping following an expert committee’s recommendation.

This will not impact the students’ admission to higher studies.

The notice also said the students cannot change the fourth subject on their registration card now.

Education Minister Dipu Moni on Jul 15 announced that the SSC examinations will be held in November and the HSC tests in December if the pandemic situation improved across the country.

The examinations will be held following health protocols and with a reduced syllabus, the education minister had said. The tentative dates are the second week of November for the SSC exams and the first week of December for the HSC exams.

The minister discussed the government’s plans for the examinations in a virtual press conference on Wednesday, amid mounting concerns from students and parents.

Dipu Moni had said forms for the exams would be available after Eid-ul-Azha.

In light of the reduced syllabus, the SSC will have 24 assignments and the HSC 30.

If the pandemic situation is not favourable, the ministry will mull about combining the results of subject mapping for required subjects, by considering the results of previous public examinations, and the results of the assignments.

Educational institutions have been closed since March of 2020 due to the pandemic.

The government had announced a schedule for reopening earlier this year when the number of COVID-19 cases dropped, but a second wave of infections forced authorities to scrap the plan.

It is not clear when the situation will improve. Bangladesh is currently experiencing its worst period of the pandemic, posting more than 1,000 deaths in just five days.

The government usually holds the SSC exams in February and the HSC tests in April.

Last year the SSC tests were completed before the pandemic, but the HSC exams were postponed.

As schools remained shut, students were promoted automatically without sitting exams after following classes online.

The HSC results were published by averaging the grades in the JSC and SSC.

Officials insist that automatic pass will not be an option this year for SSC and HSC students.