Published : 11 Aug 2026, 07:12 AM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:31 AM
Crumbling Classrooms
Scoring a reality check: Pass rates hit a 19-year low of 62.25 percent as official score inflation gave way to honest marking
Compounded curriculum chaos: Mid-course curriculum shifts and post-uprising disruption severely hit maths and English scores
Stricter rules, deeper flaws: CCTV monitoring and unearned-mark bans exposed falling discipline and a weakened study culture
Bangladesh’s secondary school examination has delivered its starkest result in nearly two decades. Only 62.25 percent of the more than 1.8 million students who sat the SSC and equivalent exams this year passed -- the lowest rate since 2007.
Just 116,676 secured GPA-5, down 22,356 from last year. The pass rate fell 6.2 percentage points from 68.45 percent in 2025.
For students and parents, the numbers look like a collapse.
Education officials see something else: a return to reality after years in which, they allege, the previous Awami League government artificially inflated results.
A Return to ‘Normal’?
Prof Syed Aktaruzzaman, chairman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka and president of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, said the results were “normal”.
“Since the previous government engaged in somewhat irregular marking and inflated the pass rate, it may seem that way. But I think this year’s results are correct. I hope this pass rate remains in place in the coming years.”
Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon was similarly upbeat, saying: “A beautiful result has been achieved.”
His explanation was blunt: “This time, everyone was given the marks they actually earned.”
Mahdi Amin, the prime minister’s education advisor and spokesperson, said the results represented an impartial assessment of students’ actual merit and ability, without the artificial boosting of pass rates and GPA-5 scores he attributed to the previous government.
But the reasons behind the decline may be more complicated.
Students struggled particularly in mathematics and English, two compulsory subjects.
In Dhaka, 78.4 percent passed English and 82.85 percent mathematics. In Mymensingh, the figures were 66.64 percent and 69.61 percent.
Aktaruzzaman said, “We have reviewed the results of all boards and found that, from when we sat for these exams until now, the failure rate in English and mathematics has increased and the pass rate has declined.”
A Disrupted Generation
This year’s candidates experienced an unusual educational journey. They entered Class 9 under a new curriculum introduced by the Awami League government in 2024, only to see it scrapped after the August uprising. A revised 2012 curriculum and new textbooks followed in Class 10.
Senior teacher Shahina Kabir said the disruption inevitably mattered: “One cannot avoid the impact of the curriculum change. They studied one book in Class 9 and another in Class 10. The curriculum itself also changed fundamentally.”
Other teachers point to the upheaval that followed the July Uprising, including strained relations between teachers and students, declining discipline and greater dependence on digital devices.
Headteacher Dulal Chandra Chowdhury said, “After the Uprising, the learning environment in schools has not been normal. We saw students being used in mob attacks against teachers. Since then, we have not been able to behave normally with students either.”
Stricter Exams, Harder Reality
For the first time, every examination centre was placed under CCTV surveillance, while police deployed body-worn cameras. Teachers also say the government’s warning against awarding undeserved marks changed how scripts were assessed.
One headteacher said some students may have been frightened by the tighter controls. Others, he said, lost the one or two marks teachers previously gave to help them pass or secure better grades.
Education researcher Mohammad Ali Zinnah sees the results as a more honest picture of the system.
“Many students simply did not study. The culture of studying has been lost,” he said. “The results reflect that naturally.”
He argues that restoring discipline must begin beyond the classroom -- with families, teachers and students alike.
The figures vary sharply by board: Dhaka recorded the highest pass rate at 71.63 percent, while the madrasa board had the lowest at 55.49 percent. Dhaka also led in GPA-5s with 33,253, while Barishal had just 2,778.
For educationist Syed Iftakhar Ahmad, however, better results will not come from chasing numbers. Schools, teachers and students all need sustained improvement.
Without that, he warned, “you cannot improve the education system with ‘grand words’ alone.”
