HSC result 2026: Worst performance in 22 years

The pass rate has fallen to its lowest level in 22 years. The number of students achieving the highest grade, GPA-5, has dropped by more than 27,000 in just one year.

The number of institutions where no student passed has increased, while the number of institutions achieving a 100 per cent pass rate has declined.

These are the key findings from this year's Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination results across the country's nine general education boards. Overall, the results reveal a significant deterioration in academic performance.

This year, the pass rate in English declined across almost all education boards, except the Dhaka Education Board.

Relevant stakeholders believe that poor performance in this compulsory subject is one of the main reasons behind the fall in the overall pass rate.

Comparatively poor results in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) may also have contributed. Other factors under discussion include stricter answer-script marking, inadequate teaching and learning at educational institutions, insufficient preparation by students and difficult question papers.

The downward trend in HSC results continued this year, following a similar decline last year.

The average pass rate across the nine education boards stood at 51.62 per cent this year, compared with 57.12 per cent last year. This represents a decline of approximately 5.5 percentage points in one year. The average pass rate in the 2024 HSC examinations was 75.56 per cent.

The number of students achieving GPA-5 also declined, alongside the overall pass rate. A total of 35,948 students secured GPA-5 across the nine boards this year, compared with 63,219 last year. This represents a year-on-year decrease of 27,271 students.

The results of the HSC examinations under the nine general education boards were published yesterday, Saturday.

On the same day, the results of the Alim examinations under the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board and the HSC (BM/BMT), HSC Vocational and HSC Diploma in Commerce examinations under the Bangladesh Technical Education Board were also published.

A total of 1,048,530 candidates sat the HSC examinations. Of them, 541,249 passed, while more than 507,000 failed. This means that nearly half of all candidates did not pass.

However, candidates who failed in one or two subjects will have the opportunity to retake examinations only in the subjects they failed within a month.

An analysis of the results shows that female students outperformed male students in terms of the pass rate. The pass rate among female students stood at 55.45 per cent, compared with 47.14 per cent among male students.

However, male students had a slight lead in securing GPA-5. Of the candidates who achieved GPA-5, 18,155 were male and 17,793 were female.

Among the nine education boards, the Dhaka Education Board recorded the highest pass rate in this year's HSC examinations, at 61.80 per cent. The Barishal Education Board recorded the lowest rate, at 44.84 per cent.

The pass rates across the other boards were 45.06 per cent in Rajshahi, 48.04 per cent in Cumilla, 44.92 per cent in Jashore, 52.07 per cent in Chattogram, 50.90 per cent in Sylhet, 45.98 per cent in Dinajpur and 51.44 per cent in Mymensingh.

This year, all education boards held the examinations using identical question papers. The authorities also established a uniform standard for evaluating answer scripts.

A review of HSC examination results over the 22-year period from 2005 to this year shows that the sharpest decline in the pass rate in recent years occurred last year.

In 2024, the average pass rate stood at more than 75 per cent. It fell to around 57 per cent last year and declined further to 51.62 per cent this year.

Previously, the pass rate stood at more than 59 per cent in 2005. Between 2006 and 2024, however, it did not fall below 60 per cent in any year.

During this period, the pass rate fluctuated, but remained above 60 per cent and, in most years, exceeded 70 per cent.

In 2020, the year the covid-19 pandemic began, the authorities published the results without holding examinations. All candidates passed that year.

This year's results have particularly highlighted students' weakness in English. Apart from the Dhaka Education Board, no other board recorded an English pass rate of 70 per cent or higher.

The pass rate in English under the Dhaka Board stood at 73.62 per cent, while the other boards recorded rates ranging from 54 per cent to nearly 66 per cent.

The Barishal Board recorded a low overall pass rate, while its pass rate in English stood at around 54 per cent.

The pass rate in the compulsory Information and Communication Technology (ICT) subject was also comparatively low. No board recorded a pass rate of 80 per cent or higher in this subject.

As English and ICT are compulsory subjects, the large number of students failing these examinations has also affected the overall results.

However, several other factors are important, including regular classroom teaching, the availability of subject-specific teachers, an environment conducive to learning English in classrooms and the nature of examination questions.

This year's HSC examinations also faced allegations of various errors and inconsistencies in question papers. The government itself acknowledged errors in two questions in the Physics First Paper examination.

The authorities decided to award full marks to all candidates for those two questions. Candidates also raised complaints about certain inconsistencies in the Chemistry and Biology question papers.

There were also irregularities in the distribution of question papers. In some centres, regular candidates received question papers intended for irregular candidates, while in others, candidates sat for the Second Paper examination instead of the First Paper.

In response to these incidents, the authorities issued show-cause notices to those concerned, relieved some individuals of their duties and initiated investigations.

In addition, holding examinations amid adverse weather conditions sparked resentment among candidates and their guardians. Education stakeholders believe changes in the assessment system may also have affected the results.

However, it is not possible to determine the extent to which each of these factors contributed without specific data and evidence.

Education stakeholders also believe that students' learning gaps, the quality of classroom teaching and their examination preparation need to be taken into consideration.

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon said the results of this year's HSC and equivalent examinations were unsatisfactory. He said, “The learning gaps among students have become evident. We will take measures to address this in the coming days.”

Speaking at a programme organised at the Secretariat yesterday, Saturday to announce the examination results, the education minister said, “We will be able to determine whether there are any errors in the results after the re-evaluation process.”