Students with 70% attendance can appear public exams: govt

Seventy percent attendance in classes will be a good enough criterion to make students eligible to sit for public exams, according to a new circular sent out by the government.

The education ministry instructions have been sent to schools, colleges, madrasas and technical training institutes across Bangladesh on Tuesday.

It asks educational institutions to let students fulfilling the attendance criteria sit for exams, even if they fail the test exams.

Schools and colleges usually hold tests for students’ appearing for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) exams.

Some institutions bar students who fail to perform well in the tests from appearing the SSC and HSC exams.

The ministry’s latest directive says educational institutions must arrange proper test exams, but students with 70 percent attendance must be allowed to appear in public exams even if they fail to clear the tests.

It also pointed out that some students would not be able to sit for the test exams due to illness, natural calamity, accidents and other causes, and advised special care of students with ‘unsatisfactory performances’ in test exams.

The circular also instructed institutions to evaluate teachers’ performance within a month of publishing the results of the public exams.

The ministry also directed education officers in Upazilas and districts to report on teachers’ performance to the education boards.