Bangladesh to publish HSC results by Jan 28 as cabinet agrees to amend law

The government is planning to publish the outcome of last year's Higher Secondary Certificate and equivalent exams by Jan 28 after deciding to make an amendment to the law, instead of passing an ordinance, to release the results amid the coronavirus crisis.

The cabinet on Monday agreed to tweak the existing law and introduce a provision for publishing results without holding exams 'in special circumstances'.

In a virtual meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the cabinet also gave the final approval to the draft of 'Intermediate and Secondary Education Ordinance 1971 (Amendment)', 'Bangladesh Technical Education Board Act, 2018' and Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board Act, 2020.

After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam told reporters at the Secretariat that a proposal was made in the cabinet to issue the ordinance and release the results of HSC and equivalent exams between Jan 13 and 16.

"There is a provision in the law, which requires the government to release the results after holding the exams. Since the examination could not be held this time, the Department of Secondary and Higher Education proposed issuing an ordinance allowing the results to be released within 7-10 days,” Islam said.

But during the discussions, the cabinet noted that the parliament will sit in just seven days. As the session is just around the corner, the cabinet has decided against issuing an ordinance. Its proposal was vetted and approved directly.

The cabinet has decided to put up the matter on the first day of the parliamentary session and have it legislated within 2-3 days so that the results can be published by Jan 28 at the latest, according to the secretary.

This year's HSC and equivalent exams were slated to begin on Apr 1 but were eventually cancelled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country.

Education Minister Dipu Moni later announced that the yearly tests would be replaced with a stop-gap system of averaging the scores of the JSC and SSC exams. She also had said an ordinance would be passed to publish the results of the HSC and equivalent examinations in light of the special circumstances created by the coronavirus epidemic.