Call for quality education, more focus on humanities after ‘satisfactory’ SSC results

Teachers and educationists have described the 82.87 percent pass rate in SSC examinations as “satisfactory” but called for quality education along with more focus on humanities studies.

Some of them have also called for efforts to stop nearly 350,000 candidates, who have failed to clear the tests, from dropping out after the publication of results.

“It always occurs to me during the publication of results that no one should have failed. But many have been unsuccessful, Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury said.

It is natural that some students will secure good grades while some others will not, but such huge numbers of unsuccessful candidates are “abnormal”, the professor emeritus of Dhaka University’s English Department said. 

Prof Serajul observed that results do not suggest the quality of education has risen.

“We must raise the quality of education,” he said, suggesting appointment of good teachers and adequate care of the students by their parents.

The pass rate among students of science stream was a staggering 94.54 percent and business studies 84.8 percent, but the 76.39 percent success rate in humanities dragged the average down.

Rasheda K Chowdhury, executive director of the Campaign for Popular Education or CAMPE, said students took interest in business studies once but humanities have always lagged behind.

The government mainly focuses on science studies and it is necessary in the era of information technology, the former adviser to a caretaker government said.

“But humanities must not lose priority. They carry our culture and tradition,” she added.

Rasheda also stressed the need for textbook materials that help the students build values at least up to grade 10.

Md Ariful Islam, examinations controller of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Rajshahi, said humanities students mostly fail in English and mathematics and it should be addressed.

Md Ziaul Haque, chairman of the inter-board coordination committee, said he was happy about the pass rate going slightly higher than last year’s.

“Mostly science students have contributed to the rate. We will take steps to raise the success rate in the humanities stream,” he said.

He also believes the quality of education in the SSC exams this year was average.