X
The first day of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations passed off peacefully across the country on Thursday, with 24,784 candidates remaining absent and seven expelled for adopting unfair means.
According to the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, 1,000,120 of the 1,024,904 registered candidates appeared in the examinations, while 24,784 were absent.
Under the country's nine general education boards, 838,864 of the 856,097 registered candidates took the Bangla First Paper examination. A total of 17,233 candidates were absent, while five were expelled for malpractice.
Among those expelled, two were from the Jashore Education Board, while one each was from the Cumilla, Dinajpur and Mymensingh education boards.
Board-wise absentee figures were 3,971 under Dhaka, 2,497 under Rajshahi, 1,795 under Cumilla, 2,078 under Jashore, 1,340 under Chattogram, 1,127 under Sylhet, 1,346 under Barishal, 1,937 under Dinajpur and 1,142 under Mymensingh.
Under the Madrasah Education Board, 80,653 of the 85,131 registered candidates appeared in the Alim examination in Quran Majid, while 4,478 remained absent and one candidate was expelled.
Meanwhile, under the Technical Education Board, 80,603 of the 83,676 registered candidates sat for the Bangla-II examination. A total of 3,073 candidates were absent and one was expelled.
The committee said information from eight overseas examination centres under the Dhaka Education Board was not immediately available.
Meanwhile, large numbers of guardians gathered outside examination centres in the capital throughout the day. Many expressed concerns over the return to the full syllabus, severe traffic congestion and the prevailing heatwave.
Several guardians also criticised the decision to restore the full syllabus and introduce a common question paper across the nine general education boards shortly before the examinations, saying the changes had placed additional mental pressure on students.
Students, however, generally described the Bangla First Paper examination as balanced and of a satisfactory standard. While many found the creative section relatively easy, some said a few multiple-choice questions were more challenging.
TZ
