Lowest HSC pass rate in 2 decades

Experts concerned over education quality

Published : Friday, 17 October, 2025 at 12:00 AM Count : 595

The results of this year's Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations show one of the lowest pass rates in two decades. The combined pass rate across 11 education boards dropped to 58.83 per cent, sharply down from last year's 77.78 per cent. Experts say this raises questions about systemic failure, policy inconsistency, and students' academic preparedness.

Released simultaneously on Thursday, the results show that only 69,097 students achieved GPA-5 this year, a drop of 76,814 from last year's 145,911. A total of 58,701 students failed outright, while 202 educational institutions recorded zero pass rates, compared to 65 last year. The number of institutions achieving a cent percent pass rate also fell to 1,043, highlighting what educationists describe as a "crisis of quality."

* Pass rate 58.83pc
* GPA-5 drop by 76,814
* 202 institutions recorded zero pass rate
* Highest subject failures: Accounting, English, ICT
* Overseas centres pass rate 95.88pc

Experts say the drastic fall is due to deeper structural and policy flaws rather than the mere absence of "sympathetic marking." Education Adviser Prof Dr CR Abrar defended the results, saying, "We have chosen honesty by giving fair marks, not satisfaction." He insisted that the results reflect genuine evaluation standards, free from political or institutional influence.

Dhaka Board Chairman and head of the Bangladesh Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, Prof Dr Khandokar Ehsanul Kabir, echoed this view. "In the past, there were various sympathetic instructions to give marks to examiners. This time, that was not the case at all. No pressure or hint was given from the board. The correct evaluation was done. So, the results are real."

However, not all share this confidence. Former caretaker government adviser and CEO of the Mass Literacy Campaign, Rasheda K Chowdhury, sharply disagreed with the board's narrative. "Even though the exams have returned to normal, we need to find an answer to the question of why students were not able to prepare normally," she said. "Restoring the syllabus and marking method to the old format was not enough. The same normal pattern should have been brought into classroom teaching. That has not been done. There lies the flaw."

Echoing this concern, Prof Dr Siddiqur Rahman, former Director of the Institute of Education and Research (IER) at Dhaka University, condemned the outcome as an "academic injustice." "So many students failed-where will they go? Did you make them guinea pigs?" he asked. "This cannot be an example of a good education system." He argued that attempting to justify poor results by citing restored syllabuses and examination methods reflects a policy failure rather than academic reform.

Another Dhaka University academic, Prof Siddiqur Rahman Khan, identified the crisis as the result of political interference in education. "We are going through many experiments with our education system-sometimes education-friendly, sometimes politics-friendly. We have seen a tendency to pass exams for political reasons, which has hindered the process of students achieving results based on their merit."

Prof Mohammad Moninur Rashid of the IER urged for evidence-based reforms. "Whether there are flaws in the education system or not is a matter of research. We often make assumptions without data, and that is the problem. Results alone are not enough-we must assess whether students are learning what they need to learn and developing the attitude they are supposed to have."