This year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination results have continued the downward trend seen last year. A review of results over the past 22 years shows that the pass rate in this year’s HSC examinations under the nine general education boards is the lowest on record.
Only 51.62 per cent of candidates passed. Last year, the rate was 57.12 per cent. This means the pass rate fell by a further 5.5 percentage points in the space of a year.
The number of candidates achieving the highest grade, GPA-5, has also declined. This year, 35,948 candidates across the nine general education boards secured GPA-5, compared with 63,219 last year. In other words, the number fell by more than 27,000 in a year.
Students’ poor performance in English has been a particular cause for concern in this year’s results. The pass rate in the subject has fallen across almost all education boards, with the exception of the Dhaka Education Board. Those concerned believe that poor results in this compulsory subject may be one of the main reasons for the overall decline in the pass rate.
An analysis of the results published today shows that the pass rate has fallen sharply over the past three years. In 2024, the pass rate across the nine general education boards was 75.56 per cent. It fell to 57.12 per cent in 2025, a drop of around 18 percentage points in a single year. This year, it declined further to 51.62 per cent.
The poor results this year call for a review of several factors, including students’ preparation, the quality of teaching at educational institutions, the question format and the answer script assessment system. However, the large number of students failing a compulsory subject such as English warrants separate analysis.
The reasons cannot be established from the results statistics alone. Education experts believe the underlying causes need to be identified by examining subject-wise results, the difficulty of the questions, candidates’ preparation and the way answer scripts were assessed.
As announced earlier, the results of this year’s HSC and equivalent examinations were scheduled to be published on 29 October. The date was later changed to 31 October. This year’s HSC and equivalent examinations began on 2 July. A total of 1,048,530 regular and irregular candidates sat the examinations under the nine general education boards. Of them, 541,249 passed.
Female candidates recorded a higher pass rate than male candidates. The pass rate was 55.45 per cent for female candidates and 47.14 per cent for male candidates. However, male candidates had a slight lead in the number of GPA-5 achievers.
Of those who secured GPA-5, 18,155 were male and 17,793 were female. Thus, although female candidates had a higher pass rate, a slightly larger number of male candidates achieved the highest grade.
Pass rate saw sharpest decline last year
The BNP was in power in 2005. It is in power again this year. A review of HSC results over the 22 years 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 in HSC examinations under the nine general education boards was 75.56 per cent. In 2025, it fell to 57.12 per cent. Last year’s pass rate was the lowest since 2005. This year, it has fallen further to 51.62 per cent.
The pass rate stood at 59.16 per cent in 2005. Between 2006 and 2024, it did not fall below 60 per cent in any year. During this period, the rate fluctuated, rising in some years and falling in others. However, in most years it remained above 60 per cent, and often exceeded 70 per cent.
In 2020, the year the Covid pandemic began, everyone passed after the results were published without examinations. Against this backdrop, the consecutive decline over the past two years is being viewed as a major shift in the recent trend in HSC examination results.
Weakness in English more evident; assessment also under scrutiny
Students’ poor performance in English has been particularly noticeable in this year’s results. Among the nine general education boards, none apart from the Dhaka Education Board recorded a pass rate of 70 per cent or higher in the subject.
The pass rate in English at the Dhaka Board is 73.62 per cent. This year, the Dhaka Board topped the general education boards in terms of the overall pass rate. At the other boards, the pass rate in English ranged from 54 to around 66 per cent.
As English is a compulsory subject, the large number of students failing it has also affected the overall results. However, it is necessary to examine whether poor performance in English can be attributed solely to students’ inadequate preparation.
Regular teaching at educational institutions, the availability of subject teachers, the classroom environment for learning English and the format of examination questions are all important factors.
There has also been discussion about whether the questions were difficult and whether answer scripts were assessed more strictly than in previous years. Various allegations of errors and inconsistencies in question papers were raised during this year’s HSC examinations.
The government also acknowledged errors in two questions in the first paper of physics. It was decided that all candidates would receive full marks for those two questions. Candidates also complained of some inconsistencies in the question papers for chemistry and biology.
Errors were reported not only in question setting and moderation but also in the distribution of question papers this year. In some places, regular candidates were given question papers intended for irregular candidates, while in others, exams were given for second paper instead of the first paper.
This year’s results should not therefore be viewed merely as a decline in the pass rate, but as a warning sign that the quality of education needs to be assessed.
In response to these incidents, measures were taken against those concerned, including show-cause notices, removal from their duties and investigations.
In addition, holding the HSC and equivalent examinations amid adverse weather conditions this year also caused resentment among candidates and their parents.
People involved in the education sector believe that changes to the assessment system this year 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.
The continued deterioration in results is not merely a matter of how many students pass or fail; it also raises questions about students’ learning outcomes and the quality of the education system. Securing good examination results is not the sole purpose of education.
How much students are actually learning, particularly how well they are developing basic skills in subjects such as Bangla, English and mathematics, is equally important. This year’s results should not therefore be viewed merely as a decline in the pass rate, but as a warning sign that the quality of education needs to be assessed.