Not a single candidate from 15 educational institutions under the Cumilla Education Board passed this year's Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations, up from nine institutions last year.
The number of institutions with a zero pass rate increased by six in a year. Meanwhile, the number of institutions where all candidates passed fell from five to four.
Cumilla Education Board Controller of Examinations Md Shafiqul Islam announced the results at the board's auditorium at 11:00 am on Saturday.
The overall pass rate under the board stood at 48.04 per cent this year, down from 48.86 per cent last year, a decline of 0.82 percentage points.
A total of 1,313 students achieved a GPA-5, which was 1,394 fewer than last year. Of them, 821 were female students and 492 were male students. Female students outperformed their male counterparts in the number of GPA-5 achievers.
The 15 institutions where no candidates passed are Chandpur Poura Shaheed Javed High School and College in Chandpur Sadar upazila; Dr M Shamsul Haque Model College in Matlab South upazila of Chandpur; Suruj Memorial High School and College in Lalmai upazila of Cumilla; Professor Sekandar Ali Bhuiyan Girls' High School and College in Brahmanpara upazila; Bogair Girls' High School and College in Chauddagram upazila; Cambridge City College, Bir Muktijoddha Dr Momtaz Uddin Alokito College and Lakshmipur Police Lines School and College in Lakshmipur Sadar upazila; Torabganj High School and College and Fazumiarhat High School and College in Kamalnagar upazila; Jindpur union School and College and Birgaon School and College in Nabinagar upazila of Brahmanbaria; Begum Shamsunnahar Girls' School and College and Beacon Model College in Feni Sadar upazila; and Upper Model College in Begumganj upazila of Noakhali.
Each of these institutions had between one and seven candidates sitting for the examinations.
In contrast, all candidates passed at four institutions: Mainamati English School and College and Cumilla Cadet College in Cumilla Adarsha Sadar upazila; Muzaffar Ali High School and College in Meghna upazila; and Feni Girls' Cadet College in Feni Sadar upazila.
Asked about the institutions where no candidates passed, board college inspector Mohammad Sipon Mia said initiatives had been taken to bring them under close monitoring. Authorities are examining whether teachers attend classes regularly, student attendance levels and the effectiveness of teaching methods.
Explaining the overall decline in results, Controller of Examinations Shafiqul Islam cited students' weaknesses in English and higher mathematics.
Sipon Mia said students were apprehensive about higher mathematics and had also failed to achieve expected results in English. The board had organised seminars with college heads to identify the problems. Separate seminars were also held with institutions where all candidates passed to discuss how they could sustain their performance.
The Cumilla Education Board covers six districts: Cumilla, Chandpur, Brahmanbaria, Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Feni.
This year, 92,162 candidates sat for the HSC examinations at 193 centres across the six districts. Of them, 55,434 were female students and 36,728 were male students.
A total of 44,272 candidates passed, including 28,415 female students and 15,857 male students.
The pass rate among female students was 51.26 per cent, compared with 43.17 per cent among male students.
Over the past five years, the board's pass rate has plunged from 90.72 per cent to 48.04 per cent, the lowest level during the period.