The GPA-5 virus

The social and familial pressure on students to perform well on public exams can be overwhelming

SSC and equivalent tests have begun on Sunday across the country. This photo of the examinees was taken at Motijheel Government Boys High School in Dhaka. Photo: asaduzzaman pramanik/ bdnews2

Every year, thousands of students in Bangladesh take part in the Secondary School Certificate exams and the Higher Secondary School Certificate exams under the General Education Board. The SSC and its equivalent examinations are typically held in February and the HSC and its equivalent examinations are scheduled for June.

Each of these thousands of examinees, despite their wide-ranging capabilities and experiences, are under social and familial pressure to aim for a single target – the coveted GPA of 5.0. Often, the burden of expectations is placed on the shoulders of these students without consideration of their situation or their potential.

I know a family with two children. Both of them received the GPA 5.0 in the SSC examination. They were very happy. But, during the HSC exams, one did not score a GPA of 5.0. The family would talk about the child’s failure to achieve it without any thought to what they were facing, or their struggles due to their financial condition.

I am an SSC candidate for 2024, but I am delighted and relieved that my family has not put any type of pressure on me to achieve an excellent result. They have always been supportive and helped by push forward. It is because of this support that I have been able to work at Hello as a child journalist.

But not all SSC candidates are so lucky. Many of them face intense pressure from their families to achieve the GPA-5. The pressure can be overwhelming, even pushing people into depression. I even know some students who are suffering from anxiety even after they completed their SSC examinations.

Is this a healthy way for students to live? Or is it like a social infection that weighs them down during a crucial point in their childhood? Is the GPA-5 a simple evaluation of a student’s exam results, or has it become a virus?

Reporter: Samiha Mehbub Hiya

Age: 16

District: Rangpur