No more Junior School Certificate exams, says education minister

The government has scrapped the Junior School Certificate exams in 2022, as it has for the past two years.

The JSC exams, therefore, will not be held anymore as a new education system will be implemented in the future, said Education Minister Dipu Moni.

“We’re rolling out the new system in the next academic year. Although grade eight will follow the new academic system in the following year, I don’t think there will be an opportunity to hold the JSC exams,” she said on Sunday.

The government will roll out a new education system in phases from 2023. Initially, it will be introduced in grades one and two in primary schools and grades six and seven in secondary schools.

It will be implemented in grades three, four, eight and nine in 2024 and in grade ten in 2025.

The education system will ensure less academic pressure and learning through fun for students, the Ministry of Education said.

“The new curriculum will be applied to grade eight in 2024 and it will not involve a JSC exam. Therefore, we don’t see a reason to hold it in 2023," the minister said, adding the evaluation of students will be done by their educational institutions.

The students were evaluated without holding the JSC exams in the last two years due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. That process will continue, said Dipu Moni.

“We need to give certificates to the students, which we will provide based on the evaluation at the school level.”

In 2010, the government introduced the JSC exams. which drew much criticism for putting additional exam pressure on students.