Admissions to schools through lottery again

Student admissions from Class-I to Class-IX will once again be conducted through a lottery in all government secondary schools, all private secondary schools located in metropolitan areas and district sadars, as well as schools situated in upazila towns across the country for the upcoming 2026 academic year.

This decision applies to schools operating under the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), sources within the Directorate confirmed the information today, Monday.

According to the DSHE sources, online applications for admission will begin on 21 November and will continue until 5 December.

The lottery is tentatively scheduled to be held on 14 December. The lottery will be conducted digitally with technical assistance from the mobile operator Teletalk.

Under the schedule, head teachers will be able to upload online registration and vacancy information to the central software system between 12 and 19 November.

Each year, the admission process for the following academic session takes place towards the end of the calendar year, with classes beginning in January.

Historically, only admissions to Class-I were conducted through a lottery. However, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, in the 2021 academic year schools shifted to lottery-based admissions for all classes. That system has been continuing since then.