Signboard reads ‘college,’ but no classes inside

On the wall of a multi-storey building near Khilgaon Chowrasta in the capital, large letters read ‘Bangladesh Commerce College.’ But stepping inside, there’s no sign of any college activities. The floor that once hosted classrooms is now occupied by another organisation. Yet, according to records from the Dhaka Education Board, one student from this college sat for this year’s HSC exams — and failed.

Yesterday afternoon, an elderly man was seen leaving the building. He runs a tea stall nearby.

“There used to be college activities here a couple of years ago. You’d see a few students around. Now, no one comes,” he said.

According to the Dhaka Education Board, the college received approval to operate in 2005 and began admissions in the 2005–06 academic year. Last year, four students took the exam, and one passed. A board official remarked, “It’s just a shell — nothing inside.”

When the phone number listed on the signboard was called, the person on the other end said it was not a number for Bangladesh Commerce College.

According to data from the Dhaka Education Board and the country’s nine general, technical, and madrasa boards, more than 200 educational institutions this year saw not a single student pass the HSC or equivalent exams — up from just 65 last year. The figure was 42 in 2023. This means the number of “zero-pass” institutions has more than tripled in one year, exposing the grim state of the education system.

Among the nine general boards, the highest numbers of zero-pass institutions were in Dinajpur (43), Rajshahi (35), and Dhaka (34). Other general boards had between 4 and 20 such institutions.  37 institutions had no passes in Technical Education Board, 22 under the Madrasa Education Board.

Most of these institutions are in remote areas, privately run, non-MPO (meaning they don’t receive government funds), and labeled as “school and college.” Field visits show that student attendance is extremely low, classes irregular, teacher shortages severe, and infrastructure poor.

Khandaker Ehsanul Kabir, chairman of the Dhaka Education Board and president of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, told Prothom Alo that detailed information on these zero-pass institutions has been sought. Once the authorities receive the information, case-by-case decisions would be taken accordingly.

At City Royal College in Trishal, Mymensingh, none of the 13 students who took the exams this year passed. When visited at 11:00am yesterday, the building was hosting classes for a kindergarten. The premises include a tin-roofed structure, two semi-pucca buildings, and a single-story brick building. The principal’s office was locked. A sign labeled “City Royal College Digital Lab” hung on a locked door, while the open ICT lab was covered in dust. No college students were seen.

Outside, the gate still bore the college’s name, but inside, a kindergarten was running. The kindergarten’s head teacher, Kabir Hossain, also works as a computer operator for the college. He said student attendance at the college was low because it wasn’t MPO-listed.

At Boaldar School and College in Hakimpur upazila, Dinajpur, four students took the HSC exam this year. Established in 1949 as a secondary school, it opened its college section in 2013. Acting principal Abul Kasem said neither the college section nor its teachers receive MPO funding. As the teachers don’t get salaries, they don’t come. And since students don’t attend either, there are no classes.

In Bhola Sadar upazila, no students passed from Medua College and Bhasha Shaheed College. Medua College, founded in 2023 in the Shantirhat area of Rajapur union, operates from a tin-roofed building with four rooms. This year, 87 students enrolled in first-year HSC classes. Of 18 approved teaching posts, only seven teachers are employed on a contractual basis. Principal Mostafa Kamal said most of their first batch of students were dropouts — some with jobs, some managing families.
At Fatepur Moynal Haque School and College in Mirzapur, Tangail, not a single one of the 18 humanities students passed. The college began offering higher secondary education only in 2023.

Professor SM Hafizur Rahman of the Institute of Education and Research, University of Dhaka, told Prothom Alo that the government should inspect zero-pass institutions to assess both academic and administrative issues. Teachers should evaluate academic aspects, while education board or agency officials should look into administration and report back.

If the findings show that certain areas — such as remote chars (river islands) — genuinely need local colleges, then the government should incentivise and support those. But if others are found unnecessary based on regional needs, they can be merged with nearby functional institutions.

[Information for this report was provided by correspondents in Mymensingh, Bhola, Birampur, Dinajpur, and Mirzapur (Tangail)]